Best steak taco's and rice friendly service lots of food for your money love the place

Hands down the best juiciest biggest (massively huge and oh so good) steak tacos in Lafayette. I don't know much about the other food as I haven't tried it. It I can guarantee it's prob top notch! And for the same price as those little inky dinky steak tacos every other taco place offers. The service was slendid. I'll never eat any taco from anywhere again. That's a promise. read more

El Chicano - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

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I was working in Lafayette and craving enchiladas. A quick Yelp search brought up El Chicano. The menu featured authentic Mexican dishes. I ordered cheese enchiladas with red sauce, which was served with rice and beans. The enchiladas were pretty standard, the amount of red sauce covering them was very generous. Beans were ok but the rice didn't have any flavor. I liked the salsa, and I used it on my rice to give it some flavor. Chips were a little thicker than the ones that most restaurants serve. Servings are large and prices are reasonable. Nothing fancy about either the food or restaurant but a solid choice if you are in the area. read more

El Chicano - Cheese enchiladas with red sauce - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

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Food was very good. Great chips and salsa, the salsa is very unique. They seemed to always be a bit understaffed so the service is a little slow, but not enough for me to have a problem with it. The place is clean, ambience was good no complaints. read more

When you enter the establishment very hard to discern rather to be seated, go to counter or wait at door. I think you are to seat yourself. We were waited on very quickly. Beverage offered for coke was generic or you ordered bottled coke. We chose ice water. After sitting a bit salsa was brought out with chips. Chips were not warm. Salsa was ok tasted as though it may have been homemade but way to much cilantro in it. The food was not bad EXCEPT they added cilantro after being ask not to. I do have to honestly say this is absolutely the Worst Red Sauce I have ever ate in any Resturant. If it was not put on my food the food may have been palatable. The atmosphere was friendly and charming. It looked like they did a better takeout than dine in only one person in Resturant. Will definitely not return will keep to my tried and true other Mexican resturants. read more

El Chicano - Copy of menu. - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

The portion is incredible, the queso is thick and creamy not like most places that water it down..the waitress was very friendly & the restaurant is imaculant!! Highly recommend!! read more

El Chicano - Taco Carneasada - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

Always great. Carnitas are the best around. Chilaquiles are outstanding. Really nice family owns the place.

I got the three tacos and the meat was incredibly tender and very flavorable. We really enjoyed our lunch here!

True Mexico at its best. The flavor and taste true to the country's traditions. My favorite. read more

El Chicano comes across as a slightly upscale, slightly more expensive, smaller and more intimate Taco Rico. We were impressed by just about every part of our visit. The meat is all marinated and prepared on site, and the taste and texture were excellent, both reflecting the care put into its preparation. The food presentation was consistently top notch. We had the camarones a la diabla, rounded out with a tripa taco and an al pastor taco. The tripe was from intestines, which some might not prefer, but it was excellent. The shrimp was (as advertised) quite spicy. The waitress was very careful to make sure we knew that it's spicy, which we appreciated. All in all, this family owned and run restaurant is a great option for a great meal. read more

Don't even bother calling if you're white. They are somehow always too busy to make any food. My Hispanic buddy calls immediately after me and they have no problem taking his order. Worst business in town. read more

As far as Mexican food goes, I'm not too picky: it just has to be flavorful and hot. Our experience here was so-so, but I wouldn't deter others from trying. First and foremost, the salsa has to be on-point for me to fall in love. This salsa was way too sweet for my liking, unfortunately. I prefer salsa heavy on the cilantro with heavy notes of garlic and salt. This just didn't hit the mark for me. My meal was pretty darn tasty: I ordered chicken, cheese, and beef enchiladas with green sauce. The Verde was spicy and flavorful, almost a little too far on the hot side but I'm definitely not complaining. My boyfriend's dish had steak with mole sauce, which he thought was seasoned well. I tried a bite and it was a little tough, but nicely seasoned. The atmosphere was very unimpressive, but let's be honest: you don't really come for a fancy view. The location was a bit hard to find...signage isn't very apparent. However, I would go back again if I was in the area; maybe I might change my mind and give 'em an extra star next time. read more

El Chicano - Enchiladas combinadas - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

Well they state authentic Mexican food. They offer both American style ant traditional. With sour cream and cheese or with cilantro and onions. I had the fajitas steak. Oh so good. Best I have had outside of California. The salsa was different slightly sweet with green tomatoes? Good but different They also share space with New York Cafe read more

El Chicano - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

Found this restaurant when my daughter craved some Mexican food. The salsa was thin and sweeter than expected but we did enjoy it. Chips were ok. My husband got ground beef taco and tostados. He loved his tostado as it was loaded. Daughter had combo fajitas and really impressed with the balance of each protein. They gave more shrimp than any other restaurant we have experienced! Great to see! I had the pork burrito and really enjoyable. Overall solid meal and quick service. read more

Best salsa, mole sauce, enchiladas, refried beans and it's all family owned. Love this hidden gem.

I dined here with a large group (20 plus) that ordered directly from the menu. We were given a back room to ourselves for our club banquet. It was my first visit here and I was impressed with the quality of the food. Everyone raved about their meals. The service was great considering the size of our party. Two Latino women in our group said they eat here all the time, so what more of a recommendation do you need? I definitely want to go here again in the future. read more

Probably the best Mexican food I've had, add definitely the best in tee Lafayette area. Their chips and salsa is amazing.

This is our favorite place to get tacos! I heard about it from a co-worker because I noticed he was ordering it for lunch delivery all of the time. He told me that there is nothing more traditional in town. He was right. It is affordable, the food is so authentic and fresh, and the family that owns it are so sweet. This is no chain restaurant. Everything is made to order and you don't have to wait long. This place is a dive, so no need to dress up here. It is a hole in the wall, but you will not be disappointed. When my family eats here, we always end up getting Mexican Style tacos. I normally do three chicken and feel stuffed. My husband loves the pork and al pastor tacos the best. Their fresh guacamole is amazing & I enjoy their chips. The salsa is too sweet for me, but I still end up snacking on it. Check this place out. You will be glad you did. read more

Came here on a rainy Monday afternoon. Not many people in the place. The first table we chose had food bits and liquid on it. So we opted for an an interior table. Took about seven minutes for the waitress to ask about drinks or anything. The chips were very nice. Real corn and firm, not crispy like many homemade chips. The salsa was sweet. Very sweet. My 2, 4 & 6 yr old kids liked it. I did not. I ordered an Al Pastor taco (Mexican style) and a steak tostada. The taco was so-so. The tostada lacked much of anything as far as flavor. Just came with meat, lettuce, tomato cheese. Needed guac I think. Boring item. The Al Pastor meat was pretty good, but the onions and lime didn't bring much to the party. Taco was pretty good I guess, but should have been better. I tried my daughter's quesadilla. Was greasy but good. Lots of cheese. It was the best thing we ordered. Other daughter ordered a bean burrito, just beans. They toasted the tortilla and the beans inside were watery making it impossible for her to eat. Other daughter had a pork taco (American style). Boring meat and barely any cheese. Price-wise it wasn't bad, but the food was sub-par and service was just ok. All in all, I won't be going back. read more

Wonderful family serving authentic cuisine. Inexpensive family dining. Try the steak or shrimp chimichanga, even though it's not on the menu -- it'll be the best one you've ever eaten! You won't leave here hungry OR broke. And yes, their red sauce will light you up! Two thumbs up! read more

Word of mouth works as we heard this place was great and it was. We went here early on a Saturday evening and got a table right away. Already there was a big party of Latinos having a blast so we suspected the food would be awesome and it was. We had various types of tacos (pork, chicken, beef, sausage but no fish tacos as the cook doesn't come from that area of Mexico where they make fish tacos, or so it was explained to us). The member of our party who had enchiladas with red sauce hasn't stopped raving about them since! We also had beer and iced tea (they have it unsweetened as well). This place is tucked away at one end of a mini mall (and you have to be careful to not park in the spaces for an adjoining cafe), and it's wheelchair accessible! read more

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holy crap! yum. i don't know what the guy was talking about who gave the one star but i loved this place so much- the people were so nice and the food was delicious. can't wait to go again read more

Ordered lunch from them for the first time today and it was not good. I had enchiladas and my husband had a burrito. The enchiladas were gross, the beans were runny and rice bland. My hubby did not care for the burrito either. read more

Ordered from here twice. Ordered steak tacos and they were soooooooo good. I've been trying to find a goood Mexican restaurant since I've moved here in January and this by far is the best. read more

Had the Shrimp Burrito and it was excellent! Beans & rice inside. There was a lovely salad on the side with lots of veggies and not all lettuce. read more

El Chicano - Shrimp Burrito. - Mexican Near Me - Lafayette, Indiana

My experience seems to be very different than other reviewers on here. I ordered the Nachos Tejanos (chicken) and a Tostado (chicken); both were extremely dry, bland, and the chips were stale. I ordered through HungryBoiler so I'll have to take that into consideration and think about eating at the actual restaurant at a later date but my first experience was a true disappointment. read more

Food is amazing. Prices are great. Service is quick and friendly. I don't normally enjoy mexican food, but this is super fresh and flavorful. read more

El Chicano has some of the best tacos I've ever had! I highly recommend the pork tacos. The margaritas are also delicious. This place is authentic and awesome! read more

This is my first review on yelp. The first review should be given to my favorite restaurant! This is a sweet family-owned restaurant. The authentic Mexican style tacos are so great! It's wrapped with corn tortilla, not the American style flour tortilla. The nachos taste wonderful with their homemade salsa. I've tried so many Mexican restaurants but no one can surpass El Chicano! It was on Underwood St. and has moved to here for about 1 year. Same good quality. Definitely would recommend to everyone! read more

Would have given a great review BUT a couple days after I visited here, I had charges on my credit card that I did not charge. (Online website) DO NOT USE YOUR CREDIT CARD HERE.. read more

Seriously great tacos, jukebox, awesome owners, Mexicoke. What more could one ask for?

El Chicano was recommended to me by a friend as one place where he and his wife could eat a very good filling dinner at a sit down restaurant for $12 plus tip. He was right. I wish I had heard of this place sooner. I was impressed by the home-cooked feel of the food there; not salty, greasy, or cheesy. The food arrived quickly and the server was attentive. No complaints. A good experience all around. read more

Favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. I'm Mexican myself, and this is the real deal. Food quality is the best. Tacos come with plenty of meat, and the works on top (sour cream, onions, lettuce). The "al pastor" meat especially is the best around, honestly nothing comes close. Service is always great. Prices are fair. Do yourself a favor, and give this place a try. read more

We had the tacos with handmade tortillas. Chorizo, chicken and steak. All enjoyed their meals. The tortillas were excellent. Three sauces were served along with a bean dip with chips. Authentic Mexican food. read more

First Mexican restaurant I had to ask for chips and salsa. Salsa was really thin and sweet for some reason. Service and speed were good. The Enchilada was so so. Pretty expensive as well. read more

Went to this place second time. This place has great authentic Mexican food. I loved it. Still got to try many other dishes.

Ordered from their web site for delivery for a group of 5. The food was great and the person who delivered it was extremely friendly. Best of all the food arrived exactly on time. I work at a factory and it's difficult to find places that will deliver by our 11:30 lunch time. We had enchilada combo, the salted steak enchilada and several of their beef tacos. I'm looking forward to trying more items from their menu. Be sure to order using their website. I tried to order through Grub Hub and found it was confusing but the site http://elchicanorestaurant.com was super easy. read more

We love the food at El Chicano. It is definitely authentic Mexican, though they do offer "American" tacos. The reason we like it is that it reminds us of the great al pastor and asada and pollo tacos we had in Sonora Mexico. The prices are very reasonable and the service is very good. We highly recommend it for the great food. read more

Let me just say that I looove authentic Mexican tacos. I come from a suburb in Illinois where there's a strong Mexican population and plenty of great places to find good Mexican food. Here in Indiana, I wasn't thinking I'd find anything nearly as good as what I'm used to, but El Chicano is top notch! I ordered the chips and salsa, 4 steak tacos, and 1 marinated pork taco. They give you a LOT of meat in each taco, onions, cilantro and a scoop of guacamole. The steak was decently seasoned, but perfected with a little salsa verde. The marinated pork taco was alright, but somewhat fatty. However, that might be the point, because it did taste similar to other pork tacos I've had. I just don't like that kind of pork, but it wasn't bad! The chips tasted great, but the salsa that came with it was not really good. It wasn't spicy at all, it was actually kind of sweet, which I don't like in my salsa. But my order also came with some cups of a different very spicy sauce that I used instead for dipping and to add some spice to the tacos. They also come with limes full of juice to squeeze on your tacos. The price was great too, I paid a little more to have it delivered, but it was 12 bucks for a big amount of food. I was stuffed to capacity and still had a leftover taco for lunch the next day. I don't know if it's the best because I've only tried Poblano's out here, but it's 20000000000 times better and is now my favorite restaurant to order from after a long day. read more

Had the enchilada variety with red sauce. It was supposed to be 1 each chicken, beef, cheese. The cheese was replaced with a mystery meat and the sauce was more brown. The beans were soupy. Basically this was a typical Lafayette Mexican restaurant serving slop on a plate. I love Mexican food, my daughter in law is Mexican so I know how good it should be. Very disappointing. read more