Wonderful food, service and owners. 100% recommend. My favorite dish is the chipotle fiesta! Try it!

I ordered the chicken soup with extra avocado. Best I have ever had! A food delivery service delivered the food and the chips were warm and crispy when I received it. I'll be going into the restaurant soon to try more items on the menu. read more

Honestly, with all of the recommendations we got to come here, we were not that impressed with the food. It felt extremely overpriced for what it was. The service was pretty helpful until it came to getting our check. There was a big delay in that. Ambiance is okay for what it is! read more

See all

First of all, if I could give El Charro 6 stars I would. The cheese dip is thick, the chicken cheese and rice is on point, and the margs? Lethal. Second, this is a fabulous local spot, so I hope good reviews don't ruin it. If you're ever by UT you gotta stop by! read more

It's hard to stand out in the Mexican food space, and El Charro doesn't. While I only picked up to-go, the food was good but not great. I prefer my salsa a bit chunkier in order to taste the freshness of the ingredients, but this one had good heat. However, it was very similar in texture to the red sauce that covers the burrito. I ordered the chorizo burrito with a side of rice and beans. Chorizo can easily be too salty, but this one was fine and had decent flavor. While nothing particularly stood out, I would go back, and I can see how El Charro has been a fixture in Knoxville for the past 30 years. read more

Skip this joint...it is not good! I'm super surprised because it's really hard to mess up chicken quesadillas! I ordered Uber eats pick up for lunch, which included shredded chicken quesadillas and shredded chicken taquito plate. The food was ready when the app said to pick up. However, there were no napkins, no forks to eat the lettuce and guacamole. To top it off, the quesadillas were super dry and barely any cheese. How can a Mexican place mess up these dishes!?? There is a drive through call La Herradurra that has good quality and authentic Mexican food that is better than this place. Save the calories for a satisfying meal but El Charro is not the place. ‍ So disappointed. Please season your shredded chicken, if you are going to make these dishes. New recipes needed for sure!! read more

This is the best Mexican restaurant in Knoxville. Best salsa/chips, guacamole, queso (cheese) dip, & margaritas. I have been a fan since 1995 & I have never been disappointed in anything that I have ever ordered. The family that owns El Charro & staff are friendly and try hard to please their customers. You can sit inside or outside (dog friendly outdoor) on patio. read more

Let me start by saying the staff were nice. There seemed to be one waiter working so things did take a minute to come out. There of course is complementary chips and salsa. I will say the salsa is better than some other places in town. The queso was fine, nothing terribly special about it. We were sitting under a vent which cooled the queso into a solid form, but the waiter warmed it back up for us. I ordered a chicken quesadilla, which tasted like a rotisserie chicken and cheese. There's not really any notable seasoning. Someone got a plate of chicken nachos and it was the same thing, rotisserie like chicken with queso over chips. The margarita I ordered I'm pretty sure was just the mix margarita over ice. Overall everything was ok. I think what draws people in is how affordable it is. There are deals on certain days of the week. So on taco Tuesday it's $1.69 per taco, which is hard to beat at a restaurant. read more

See all

El Charro has long been a favorite of my friends and colleagues, but I didn't appreciate how good it actually is. I'd had carryout from El Charro, but finally visited with my family in February. Service was friendly and very good. The dining room was fairly empty when we were there, but it was an off in-between time. Everything was clean and staff members quietly sat at a table making napkin packets. Prices are very reasonable for food and drinks. I had a mushroom quesadilla and was extremely impressed by the developed flavors in it. This was no nasty canned mushroom mix. My dad really enjoyed his mole dish. Portions are generous, to say the least. read more

El Charro is one of those places you can count on for consistency. You will find great service and good food every time you visit. The food may be your typical Mexican fare, but the decor is less noisy, featuring plenty of live plants and quirky tchotchkes lining the windows (a favorite part for my kids). It's a family-run business, and their pride shows in their quick and friendly service. If you're lucky enough to get Ezekiel as your waiter, you're in for a lot of smiles. Recently I watched him wait on a table of patrons who were hearing impaired, and it almost made me cry to see how animated he was in communicating with them despite the language challenges. He makes everyone feel like a regular. My daughter loves getting a Dum-Dum as she leaves, and it's those small details that set this restaurant apart. The prices are typical ($17 for chicken fajitas). You can get good Mexican all over Knoxville, but no other place welcomes like El Charro. read more

See all

El Charro authentic Mexican restaurant has great quality Mexican meals. They have the best Mexican steak fajitas, loaded with fresh grilled peppers, onions and tomatoes. My two sons really did enjoy eating the chicken and beef burritos with fresh chips and salsa. What makes El Charro authentic Mexican restaurant, different from any other Mexican restaurant is their excellent service. Our server was Cathy; she went above and beyond great quality of service to make sure our table wanted for nothing with an amazing friendly smile. read more

See all

The Service is fast and amazing food is emacelnt and this place is really good servers are really nice read more

El Charro - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

One of my clients recommended here said best Mexican since they left Texas! Oh my they were correct! It was so good did not take picture of the Carnitas but they were amazing! Deep flavor but super tender! Fajitas were very tasty lunch with our kids was perfect. Thank you we will be back! read more

See all

We had the absolute best time here! We had a party of 10 with no reservation and they sat us immediately! They also had other tables and a party of like 25 going on as well. Our server was absolutely amazing and honestly really made everything so much better. He was so positive and happy. He really seemed to love what he was doing! The food and margaritas were so yummy! They sang happy birthday to my friend it was awesome! Will totally be back. read more

El Charro has awesome daily specials and my favorite is definitely the $1.99 margaritas every Monday! I The service is fast and friendly and the margaritas are surprisingly strong for them to be so cheap. The food here is good as well and the portions are huge, which is a plus. Their prices are a little higher than other standard Mexican restaurants, but I guess they make up for it with the large portions. All in all El Charro is a fun place to meet up with friends to enjoy a tasty marg and Mexican food! read more

El Charro - The Pollo a la Americana. This was a huge portion! I will definitely split this next time. - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

See all

This has been my favorite Mexican food in Knoxville since the 80's. It is very consistent and just good traditional Mexican food. I love the chicken enchiladas or chimichangas and the chicken soup is the best I've ever had. If you like green salsa that's a little spicier ask for the jalapeno salsa, it's so good! The chips are always fresh and the rice is always seasoned just right. It is family owned and always welcoming. I highly recommend it! read more

I've been going to El Charro for years. I used to eat lunch a lot at the location in Lovell View shopping plaza. It was great. This new location doesn't seem as good. Pros: Clean, good food, great portion size, excellent service, fair price. It is your typical Mexican food. The chips and salsa are good. I always get beans and rice with flour tortillas with my meal. Love to load up the tortillas with the beans and rice. They are generous with the liquor in the mixed drinks. Cons: Doesn't seem as good as the old location, maybe because the owners don't work here. I used to love the old location out west Kingston Pike. All said, good Mexican place. Good location, nice new restaurant. read more

Best Mexican food I've ever had!! Service is great and the restaurant atmosphere is family friendly. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone in the area looking for Mexican food. If you're a bean lover like I am then I would highly recommend getting the bean dip to eat with the tortilla chips. read more

El Charro has always been one of my favorite local Mexican restaurants, and my fiance had never tried them and I have never tried this location. We were not disappointed. We called in the order and it was ready when we got there. First off the tortilla chips were warm and the salsa tasted really great. I had the chicken mole and it was really good. The mole was on point with chocolate and spices blended perfectly. Chicken was cooked perfectly and served like a pulled. Chicken BBQ plate would be. My fiance ordered a grilled chicken dish that had veggies and cheese that tasted great too. We also each got a 16 oz Margarita to go. Both were very refreshing and only $4.99 per drink. As expected I was not disappointed and El Charro is still one of my favorites. We will return! read more

El Charro - Mole chicken, grilled chicken, tortilla chips, salsa, and margaritas - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Best Mexican food since I've moved out of California! Nothing is smothered in queso! That's right Tennesseans. I like queso too but it's not suppose to be on Mexican dishes! Great service, amazing food, and delicious drinks. I'll be back often! read more

This is nice sized restaurant that is nicely decorated in pretty typical Mexican style. There is a nice patio outside - which is where we chose to sit. Our server was very friendly and nice. The food came out in a timely manner and was decent portions. The Chile Relleno was wonderful. The batter that it was coated & fried in was one of the best I have had! And the Chile itself was stuffed with just the right amount of cheese - so flavorful & good! Everyone in our party thoroughly enjoyed what they ordered, and we all want to come back for Taco Tuesday! This may be off of the beaten path.....but so worth it. And did I mention.....the prices are pretty good as well. Olé !!! read more

El Charro - Nachos - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

See all

El Charro is affordable, but it is not flavorful. I've eaten here twice: once was takeout and the other time was taco Tuesday. When I ordered takeout, I order a chile relleno and a chicken taco. When I got home, I opened the food to find the smallest chile relleno I've ever seen and a ground beef taco. Neither were memorable. The second time I went with a friend for taco Tuesday because I saw that you could get tacos for something like $1.50 a piece. Small print was that they have to be either ground beef or chicken. I ordered a chicken chimichanga and a chicken taco. Both were bland. However, the other side of the coin is that my check was under $6. The staff was very nice. Our waiter brought an assortment of sauces when I told him I liked spicy food. Expect to have trouble finding somewhere to park. I'm a sucker for a cheap meal, but I still won't be giving El Charro another chance. read more

I've been here a couple times. The first time I ordered the steak and shrimp fajitas...the plate was HUGE!! It was such a large portion, I took it home and had an additional 2 meals. The steak and shrimp were delicious. Whatever cheese they use, is BOMB! It taste so fresh! I even asked for more to take home lol! Also, the strawberry margarita was so good. You are served complimentary chips and salsa while you wait. The salsa is not the best but it's aight. My next visit, I ate from the buffet and I was not impressed. It was just very underwhelming and didn't taste like traditional Mexican food. I also tried the steak fajitas from the buffet,for the sake of comparison, and it was just dry and not as good. The lady that seems to be running the restaurant is very sweet and they have good overall customer service. read more

El Charro - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

See all

I wish other restaurants were as good as this one! Warm friendly faces serving delicious Mexican food promptly. Thank you el charro!! read more

My 1st time at El Charro's new location. This was my go-to Mexican in W. Knoxville for years, & I was disappointed to see them move. The new building is very nice -- pretty, clean, nice outside patio, bar, & large parking lot (pics of all & the menus). I was in the area for a Dr's appt. on 9/12/17 & had a late lunch there afterward. Yay! It was "Taco Tuesday," and they had beef or chicken soft or hard tacos for only $1.29 each! I had 3 soft chicken tacos & a side of beans. The tacos were great -- shredded chicken breast, cheese, lettuce. Though the flavor was good, I considered the small side of beans at $2.39 a soupy rip-off, but how can you complain when tacos are $1.29? LOL Still reliably good chips & salsa. The all-can-eat Sunday brunch for $9.99 sounds interesting. If I'm in the area, I will probably go again, but I will not make a special trip for it. read more

See all

The employees are always super friendly. They have good prices for the portions they give. Overall the food is great.

I was going to give this review just three stars which I'll State the reason below but I gave it four stars. My wife had the three taquitos and they were excellent the beef was cooked perfectly the shells were great. you might think the taquitos are easy dish to make but they are really not depending on how the chef Cooks the beef. I had a tamale a taco and rice. The tamale was perfectly cooked the beef inside was tasted great and the corn tamale was very good. The only letdown was the taco it was in a production made taco shell which I thought was odd and they could have made it from scratch, I say that because I had chips and guacamole and they were excellent so making a taco shell would have not have been a challenge for these folks. The second thing was the meat it was just ground beef that had been seasoned which I really don't care for it they could have put shredded beef in there and it wouldn't have been a problem. My wife and I are here because we needed to take our dog to the vet school over at the University he's got some stomach problems it was not something we could get handled at the local vet. we live in Madisonville Kentucky we moved there two years ago from Los Angeles California. If you've been to Los Angeles then you know that they have some killer Mexican food restaurants. so I think these folks hit the ball out of the park on the tamale and the taquitos but we're a little short on the taco. if I lived here I would definitely go back and try some of the other menu items. That is why I gave the restaurant four stars instead of three. we got take out because we were hoteling it so I couldn't tell you what the service was other than the meal was ready when they said it would be. there are no decent Mexican food restaurants in Madisonville so this was a treat for us. I believe that any good owner of a restaurant should make a pilgrimage to the areas where the best restaurants can be found for their type of ethnic food. See how others make and plate their dishes you never can stop learning. read more

Great Mexican joint. Good chips and salsa. Drink specials fast service. Good taste. Very economical read more

El Charro - Drink specials - Mexican Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Best cheese sauce ever!! Enchilada, tacos, and rice did not disappoint. Very respectful and attentive wait staff.

This place is a staple of Knoxville. This was my first time back since moving to the west coast 3 years ago, and let me tell you, it's not the rain that makes Seattle depressing. It's the lack of El Charro queso. They always have excellent service and the food is always prepared perfectly. Their salsa is my favorite, and if you're up for a little extra kick their habanero salsa is killer. I had a fajita quesadilla this trip and will probably be back for more before I head back to the west coast. Keep it up El Charro! read more

I came here after one of my exams with a friend and the food was delicious! Our waiter was so friendly and kept the drinks coming, we definitely enjoyed the outside patio area! I will definitely be back. The margaritas were so good and refreshing and made well! I recommend this place if you want a quick meal that's sit down! read more

This place is never disappointing! We've loved it for years! The Arroz con Pollo is delicious and is enough food for two

Seriously, if you've never treated yourself to El Charro's AMPLE servings and friendly service -- you're missing out! Truly a Knoxville institution, El Charro has been my go-to for work lunches, after-work cocktails, dinner with visiting out-of-town guests, Cinco celebrations, baby showers ... you name it! If you're wondering where to have lunch today, the answer: El Charro. Pondering where to meet friends for dinner: El Charro. Nice weather? Enjoy your chips, salsa and queso (with a beer or marg!) on the patio where owner Norma has created a garden feel by surrounding the patio with knockout roses and native plants. Literally, the friendliest restaurant staff (b/c they're mostly the owners' kids!) in Knoxville with the CLEANEST, all-white-meat chicken (I'm very particular about this -- 17 years of eating here regularly and I've *never* found anything yucky in my chicken soup, burrito or tacos), get-your-money's-worth portions and supremely tasty Mexican fare that's just as yummy heated up the next day. I LOVE El Charro and will happily recommend it to both Knoxville newcomers and any Knoxvillians who haven't swung by their Sutherland location yet to enjoy their top-notch service and fare. read more

If i could put a -1 Star i would, i payed $17 for a plate of chicken cheese and rice that tasted like ass. I wouldn't recommend this place to a homeless person read more

I used to frequent El Charro at their old location and glad to see that they haven't changed other than location. Food is good quality without being too greasy and fairly priced. They have really good drink specials as well. Me and my wife always go hear when we are craving Mexican food! read more

I believe I may be a mediocre Mexican food masochist. There is some type of magnetic force field that draws me intro these ho hum blah Mexican restaurants, especially at lunch time for a random 6 to 8 dollar lunch "not so" special entre. Pretty much the same M.O. at el Charro as so many other Mexican spots in the Knoxville area; inexpensive, not very tasty or fresh, good sized portions of institutional not homemade food, lacking in fresh vegetables, fresh spices and quality ingredients... You just don't see pieces of onion, peppers, tomatos, carrots, etc in the dishes. What you get is chopped meat, shredded cheese, liquefied beans, weird tasting shredded lettuce and a sauce that's just hot but lacking in flavors and very thin and liquidy. If you are looking for a restaurant you'll forget an hour or less after eating there. If you're looking for the kind of restaurant where after you sit down you have to ask somebody to clean your sticky table. If you're looking for the kind of place where they give you the check before they serve you your food then this might be your new Mexican BFF... read more

You must come here for Taco Tuesday! $1.30 tacos (shredded chicken or ground beef). You can order in crunchy, soft, flour or corn. These tacos are hefty and filling. I ordered 2 and couldn't finish my order. The awesome thing too is that this deal is ALL DAY. Available for an awesome lunch or dinner. Either way it is an amazing CHEAP EATS option. read more

Used to love this place...been going for years. Tried it a few times over last couple months and consistently disappointed. The staff is nice enough, but save your money or eat somewhere else. They don't season the food and there's always something wrong. If you want cheap Mexican there are literally a half dozen better options. read more

I would give 0 stars if I could. I never take the time to leave reviews but this is the worst restaurant experience of my life. We ordered a cheese dip and my 2 year old got milk. We weren't real hungry as I just had bariatric surgery and my kiddo never eats anything. I asked the waitress specifically if lunch fajitas came with rice and beans and I said "ok that's what I want". She shook her head and walked off. They bring fajita. It was good. When we went to leave they charged us for the dinner portion of fajitas. It was a $7 difference. When I ask she said "oh they brought you the dinner portion so you have to pay for it" um. No. That's not what I ordered. She said "when they brought the food you knew it was a dinner portion" no. No I didn't. This is my first time eating here and honestly it wasn't a huge portion. I had no clue the difference between dinner and lunch portion besides the fact that it's 1:30 pm on a Tuesday and I specifically ordered the lunch portion. When I got to check out the male waitress who wasn't even involved started yelling at me to the point that the woman at the register was having to hold him back and kept telling him to stop that she was taking care of it. He kept yelling that 3 people ate off the plate so he was charging us extra for sharing. He refused to show me where they advertise additional charge for sharing but kept saying it was in the menu. 3 people didn't eat off the plate. I didn't eat, just enjoyed my marg. My kid attempted to take a bite of rice and then dumped the whole side of cheese out that I payed for on top of the meal (and yes I cleaned up his mess) so all in all my husband is the only one who touched the food. On top of all this the people in front of me paying were questioning being over charged for "extra tortillas" they didn't ask for and they were overcharged for an extra drink they didn't get. This place will scam all the money they can out of you for their mediocre food and talk absolutely terrible to you just for asking a question about why I was being charged for something I didn't order. That man lost his mind on me for calking them out to the point he was screaming across the room. read more

Just visited El Charro for the first time and was severely disappointed. Our first visit here will also be our last. We are a family of five, so we had a variety of food from the menu at our table. Unfortunately, none of the dishes we tried were very flavorful. We've had much better and cheaper food at other restaurants. Our total bill (2 adults and 2 kids ordering from the kids menu 1 kid ordering an a la carte taco ) was $56! Also, the glass my husband was served his water in still had lipstick marks on it from the previous patron. read more