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El Charro

4.5 (172 reviews)
Open • 7:00 am - 8:00 pm

El Charro Photos

EL CHARRO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Good for groups
Dogs allowed
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - El Charro

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Mandy N.

Ordered takeout and my husband said the whole experience went well. We ordered a few different tacos, but have a couple picky eaters, so they were able to separate the meats and toppings for us. We got carnitas, pastor, brisket, steak, and ground beef. (The pastor was my favorite! It came with pineapple. My husband's favorite was the carnitas.) Everything was hot and pretty tasty. The meal came with 4 sauces-- orange (spiciest), watery orange, watery green (my favorite), and the creamy green (least spicy.) After reading some reviews about slow service, I was a little apprehensive about ordering, but my husband went during lunch and said everything came out quickly, there was just a line to order. All in all, I'd definitely eat here again.

Chicken Enchiladas with red sauce.
Sylvia C.

Came here after visiting Carlsbad Caverns and from fellow yelpers awesome reviews. I will admit i have mixed reviews on this. Being for the region and flavors of the area for Mexican food it is a good 4 stars. Although in comparison with Los Angeles flavors, this is very different and not what I'm used to and would give it a 3-stars for fellow SoCal peeps. Pro: - Place was clean and spacious - Employees were nice and patient with our long order - Food was still yummy especially their quesobirria! Con: - as another yelper did warn us, DO expect a long wait for your food! We also waited about a good 30-min like the other yelper shared that it took to get your food - Rice were mushy (overcooked or too much broth making it) - The Champurrado was meh. Watered down with way too much burned/scald pieces leftovers in it. - The red enchilada sauce was not as authentic to what i am accustomed to in SoCal. Consistency was not like heavy cream but a thick tomato sauce that resembled straight tomato paste. Taste just like plain tomato paste also and not the earthy with any dried chili flavors I'm used to. Perhaps its how they eat it here, so wont judge on that but giving yelpers a non bias thought of what i tasted, really. All in all, the queso birria was the highlight of the meal here and a must try in my opinion. Everything else, its ok.

12/10/25 -Lunch smothered bean chili relleno burrito done Christmas style
Christa M.

We are visiting here from Dallas Tx for a few days and had a great lunch experience here. Once you order from the counter, they'll call your name to pick it up. Got my chili rellano burrito, smothered Christmas style. The green sauce was my favorite of the two. It was a little sour and had a great silky texture. The red sauce was good, however read more like an Italian gravy. Had a very mild red tomato flavor with what tasted like Italian spices. The texture was slightly chunky. The meal proportions were good, enough for leftovers. We enjoyed the chips and salsa. The rice wasn't my favorite. It was too mushy for my liking amd tasted like stovetop stuffing. I LOVE me some stovetop, just not in my mexican food.

Brisket burrito
Steve O.

Best Mexican food in Carlsbad. Very reasonably priced with huge portions. The chicken quesadilla could feed a family. The brisket burrito is a steal. You order at the counter and find your own seat. The place is packed every meal.

Quaso birria tacos
Kevin H.

Stopped by El Charro for lunch while passing through Carlsbad. Being from Central California, where Mexican food is abundant and diverse, I've noticed regional differences in flavors as I travel. This was my first time here, and overall, the experience was okay but not particularly memorable. The food itself was decent but not as flavorful as I had hoped. I ordered a few tacos and a rice, bean, and cheese burrito--nothing complicated--but we still ended up waiting over 30 minutes. For a restaurant where you order at the counter and they bring the food to your table, that felt like an excessive wait time, especially considering how simple our order was. The restaurant seemed clean, which is always a plus, but the staff didn't greet us when we walked in, which made the experience feel a bit impersonal. Service wasn't bad, just not particularly welcoming. All in all, it wasn't a bad meal, just not one that stood out. Since I'm just visiting, I'll probably try a different spot next time to explore what else the area has to offer.

2 brisket tacos/2 barbacoa tacos, beans and rice

Great Barbacoa! Fast service especially for the amount of people in the restaurant! Dining area was quiet and cool!

Foodie Y.

Casual dining experience. Tacos were great, beans great. The rice was okay. Loved the variety of self serve condiments. Bathrooms clean. Authentic Mexican tacos here. Extra parking in the back. They also have a drive through window for to go orders. I highly recommend and would go back if I was ever in the area. Order at the counter and they can your name to pick up, don't expect table side service. Tres leches cake was good too.

Menu
Khiem N.

The food here is fire. The place is kept clean but they aren't actively cleaning it up. Of their meats, we'd go carnitas, brisket, al pastor, asada, chorizo in that order. The orange sauce is super hot. Like 2/3 habanero hot. The brown sauce is 1/2 jalapeno hot. The cream jalapeno is just that. Creamy and hot too hot. The horchata is nice, extremely cinnamon forward. Tacos better than Torta better than Lunch burrito. Their refried beans are actually kind of fire. The rice is great too. They've got like 10 people working here just pumping food out. Oh yeah, there's even a drive through! If you're in the area you owe it to yourself to stop by and eat here.

Jessica D.

4 tacos for $13 is not too bad! It even comes with rice and beans. We ordered our food to go and it took a long time because I think they forgot to punch in our order :(

Birria Quesdilla
Alan Z.

Came on a weekday day and it wasn't busy. Ordered 3 things First was the birria quesadilla and it was too dry. I dipped it inside the soup and it didn't help that much. The meat was just overcooked. I got a steak burrito that also had the same issue. Was too dry. The chicken tacos weren't as dry but it was just grilled chicken so nothing special.

Taco platter: steak tacos and pastor tacos

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5 years ago

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3 years ago

Best Quesabirria I've found in Carlsbad. Quick and friendly team. Pastor tacos are always good too!

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Totally legit and where locals eat. We passing through and stopped, very pleased. Very nice, clean. Amazing food

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

Place has greAt street tacos and love the burritos staff is friendly and prices are reasonable will be returning

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3 years ago

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6 years ago

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3 years ago

Crowd pleaser for sure! My family loves it! The Birria quesadillas and regular quesadillas are unreal so good!

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

Great tacos my fave's are the Barbacoa and the Asada tacos. Their Asado burritos are really good as well.

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

Delicious. Serve breakfast burritos starting at 4am! Perfect for travelers! Great salsas.

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3 years ago

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

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4 years ago

Oh my, this is my new place 100%, food's great and service is awesome!! I'll be back over and over!!!!

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6 years ago

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El Charro - mexican - Updated October 2026

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