1529 Farmers Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95405
(707) 570-3287
Parking: in shopping center parking lot
Last Visited: July 21, 2006
Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $ to $$
El Charro is located in a shopping center and recommended by my fellow foodie Emily. At first glance, you may miss it, but the food is quite good with homestyle quality. The large windows in the front allow you to see the whole restaurant. In the rear is the kitchen with a semi-circular opening for easily placing plates to be served. Above the bar were metal lizards and a sun figure on the wall. There are also three lamps, one red, one green, and one white, hanging in the semi-circle. Near the rear is a dark wood bar. Throughout the room are hanging lamps and lights on ceiling fans. Mexican music plays in the background.
There are very large tables with bench style seating. All of the seats look like large wicker style chairs with leather covering the backs. On each chair, the light tan brown leather is painted with the El Charro name and a horse with its rider. The same leather is used on the tables, but the tables are covered with plastic. The table tops have salt, pepper, sugar, and hot sauce. Many tables also have a large candleholder with a sun sculpted on the side of the holder.
When we arrived, we received fresh salsa and a basket of chips. Some of the chips vary in freshness, but overall, it’s good.
- Carne Asada Burrito – The carne asada burrito is one of the specials highlighted on the menu. It’s filled with grilled steak, sour cream, rice, beans, guacamole, cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo. All of the contents are wrapped in a warm flour tortilla and topped with a warm ranchera sauce and cheese. I’ve been eating a lot of burritos lately, and the quality of this one is great. It’s juicy on the inside even without the ranchera sauce. There is a lot of meat and everything is very fresh. Even if you take home leftovers, you’ll still find the leftovers enjoyable. Excellent. $7.75
- Flautas – Three flautas are filled with shredded beef and deep fried until crisp. The flautas are laid on a bed of lettuce and topped with pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole, and cheese to create a platter of color reminiscent of the flag of Mexico. The flautas are served with rice and beans topped with cheese. The flautas are fresh and crispy. Good. $7.95
- Soft Tacos – Two soft tacos are served with rice and beans. The choices for meat include al pastor, carne asada, chicken, fish, or lengua. This evening, I tried the chicken and the lengua. The lengua has a nice quality – fresh and flavorful. The chicken is good too. Both tacos are topped with pico de gallo, cilantro, and served with guacamole. Good. $7.95
Service is fair. The gals can be a bit slow to come to your table, but they do remember to check on you. At the end of the meal, refills on the water glasses would have been helpful. The little touches that make great servant are absent, but they’re friendly. Of all of the burritos I’ve tried recently, and I’ve tried about five or six in a row, the burrito at El Charro is one of the best. Juicy with tender meat and a great sauce, it’s sure to fill your belly and leave you with pleasant thoughts. The other items are fresh as well (I preferred the tacos over the flautas, though the flautas were okay), but so far, nothing tops the burrito.
During a recent visit with a large party, we found that service was again only fair. With thirteen people, the one person serving could not attend to the entire room. We were constantly asking for more chips. Since the salsa bowls are rather large, there wasn’t a need to ask for additional salsa, but we were repeatedly asking for more chips. There was also a mix up when it came to the dishes being served, and they didn’t keep track of who had ordered what. This casual style was okay, but not impressive. There is lots of room for improvement, but the server was still friendly. Also, the dishes were probably all served within a ten minute period after the first dish had arrived. One of my fellow dining companions also commented on the tamales – lots of masa and not a lot of meat. My experience was better though.
- Enchilada Suiza – Two soft tortillas are rolled with either shredded beef or chicken inside. Jack cheese top the enchiladas which are covered with chile verde sauce. The enchiladas as served with rice and beans. The rice and beans were great – the rice was moist and the beans had great texture. The enchiladas were also delicious – soft and warm. Between the shredded beef and chicken (I selected one of each), I preferred the beef because the texture of the enchilada as a whole was not as dense creating more of a melt in your mouth feel. The chile verde was seasoned just right. Great. $10.95
My most second recent lunch visit was good in terms of service and food. Service was much more attentive and the food came out incredibly fast. As the restaurant filled up, we were neglected in terms of service, but service was still better than past experiences.
- Quesadilla – Choice of meat. This quesadilla is grilled until crispy and the meat and cheese inside are fresh. I selected steak. It came with a small serving of sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo, all topping shredded lettuce. Very good, though the portion is just okay. The supreme quesadillas are very large. Great lunch deal. $5.45
Today’s salsa was very fresh – blended, but lacking salt which is good for those who have a low in sodium diet. The chips were fresher, but they’re on the thick side. By the end of the lunch period, the room was entirely packed. So get there early.
My most recent visit also had good service. The food on the other hand – well, the portion was large, but the bread was burnt. The salsa was still good.
- Mexican Torta – The Mexican torta is basically a large bun, cut in half, coated with butter and grilled. Inside, your choice of meat is sandwiched between the bun with beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, mayonnaise, and tomatoes. It’s warm and the sandwich is huge. I selected carnitas and it had been fried crispy until the fat was crunchy. The flavor was very good, but the bread had been burnt. Some of the bread had been scraped out since it must have gotten too burnt to serve. The contents get 3 to 4 stars, but the bread which would have been in the same range gets 1 star. Eat at your own risk for burnt bread. $5.95
Despite the issues with service, the food is still great. It’s also unclear whether the menu has changed in style, or if there is a lunch menu and a separate dinner menu. Heartwarming and homestyle, they serve up a great plate. El Charro is definitely a place I would visit again.
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