~~ El Cholo : Mexican Dining in Santa Monica ~~
Written: Dec 04 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Tasty food, variety of menu, ambiance
Cons: Service was somewhat lacking, ginormous portions
The Bottom Line: El Cholo serves up delicious food at reasonable prices.
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| ms_pookie's Full Review: El Cholo |
My husband and I recently dined at El Cholo in Santa Monica, California. We were there for a holiday gathering for his work.
Location and Contact Information
El Cholo - Santa Monica
1025 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 899-1106
Ambiance
The side of the restaurant that faces Wilshire Blvd looks fairly unremarkable. Note that the entrance is not located on the side the faces Wilshire Blvd; instead it's located on the corner, so you have to go towards the parking lot and then pass the patio to get to the front.
The inside was very spacious and well decorated. It had an open, cozy feel to it. It is a two-level restaurant and the party was on the second floor. The table we sat at was located near the fireplace, which was nice and warm. There was also some Christmas decorations and a large Christmas tree up for the holidays.
Menu
We look at the menu because a lot of the food was predetermined by the organizers of the party. I did take a peek at the menu before going to the restaurant and they have a good variety of Mexican food, ranging from tacos to tamales. There are also appetizers, enchiladas, specialty plates, and fajitas available.
Prices
The prices at El Cholo are reasonable with entrees ranging from $10 - $15 and appetizers ranging from $8 - $10.
Food
There was a lot of food at the holiday dinner party.
We enjoyed quite a few items for appetizers. There was a basket of chips and three bowls of salsa -- the chips were light and crispy and the salsa was average. It was fairly pureed and a bit more runny than I expected. Then we had a huge bowl of guacamole, which had heaps of avocados smashed inside. The guacamole was delicious and tasty, but there wasn't anything spectacular about it. Then we had a Fiesta Platter, which consisted of a combination of nachos, quesadillas, chimichangas, crab and beef taquitos. The taquitos were very tasty as were the chimichangas. The nachos I found were fairly soggy and when the cheese on top cooled, the cheese became somewhat rubbery. The Fiesta Platter is quite impressive, but I wouldn't consider ordering it for a party of four people and then everyone getting an entree because that's a whole lot of food! We also had a side of Felix's Caesar Salad, which was nothing special, though it did have a large wedge of bland tomato that I did not care for much.
My husband chose "A Taste of History," which consisted of an enchilada, chile relleno, pork tamale, and a beef taco along with rice and beans. I chose the Tres Tacos al Carbon, which were three tacos with steak, bacon, cheese, pico de gallo, and a side of rice and beans. My tacos were tasty, but I think the combination of the steak, bacon, and cheese made it too greasy for my liking. There was a ton of food per entree, so if you are a subscriber to the "huge portions equals good food" train of thought, then you will definitely love El Cholo. I'm not a subscriber to the huge portions means quality, so I wasn't impressed by the ridiculous amount of food that was served. My husband's platter was even larger in terms of portions. "A Taste of History" serves up enough food to feed three, maybe four, people. He liked his meal, stating that the tamale was the tastiest.
In terms of taste and quality of the food, El Cholo does a good job. Their food tends to be a bit greasier than I like, but overall they serve up some tasty food. I wouldn't say it's the best Mexican food in town, but it is quite enjoyable.
We ended our meals with dessert, which was flan with some fresh cream. The flan was not good at all. It wasn't smooth like flans should be and had a dense, somewhat lumpy texture to it. I'd definitely avoid ordering the flan when dining at El Cholo.
Service
I thought the service was just average at best, and at times was definitely lacking. For such a large number of people, it seemed as though there was only one waitress. The number of staff the restaurant allotted for the holiday party seemed drastically short, which made the waitress over-worked and at times ill-tempered. When it came time to order our meals, she was a bit rude when asking what we wanted. She basically pointed her finger and said, "You. You. You." And when someone at our table asked for a glass of water and stated she needed a glass, the waitress didn't say anything. So the request was made again, and yet the waitress still didn't say anything. Then another person said that we needed an extra glass for water and the waitress became annoyed and said, "Yeah I know!" I think had she acknowledged that she had heard it in the first place, the multiple requests would not have been made. A simple nod would have sufficed.
When the meals were delivered, there were a few more staff to assist with that, though they were confused as to what went where. Someone tried to give my husband a dish that he didn't order, insisting it was what he ordered. That's not too professional.
Overall, I'd say the service left a lot of room for improvement. I do recognize that they were somewhat short staffed, but the party reservation was made weeks in advanced, so this really should not have been an issue.
Miscellaneous
Parking
Valet parking is available for El Cholo. They have a lot behind the restaurant. I think it is $4.50 for valet service. My husband and I hate valet service ... I don't like handing my keys over to a stranger to park my car. So we opted for street parking.
Overall Thoughts
El Cholo serves up delicious food at reasonable prices.
Thanks for reading.
Pooks
Copyright 2007
Recommended:
Yes
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