Chapala Cafe

In spite of what follows, I like this place, consistently ok food and service. It’s the best Mexican restaurant I’ve found in Eureka, but unfortunately, that’s not saying a lot.
Needs a remodeling and does a refrigerator really need to be in the dining room? Why is it that décor is rarely taken seriously in Mexican restaurants? Newsflash: Atmosphere is an important part of the dining experience!
Food is ok, what one would think of as average if, like me, you’re from Southern California.
Cleanest women’s restroom I’ve ever seen in a public place.

There is also a Chapala listing on Unilocal — it is the same place as this restaurant. Chapala/​Chapala Café had good food and service during the many years Ted Stewart owned it, but new owners are now running the place. One of the old waitresses is still there (Chenda) & she is good, but the other 2 male waiters must hate their jobs. The food was not good at all today. I know because I’ve had the same dish many, many times. The new owners weren’t around today, but I’d suggest that they go to Rita’s to see what good food and service is like.

This place is great. Great white beer from lost coast brewery. Awesome fish tacos and food. I recommend going here.

If you want true Mexican food with a great environment you cannot go wrong with chapalas! Food is always flavorful. The actual establishment is very classy as well and it doesn’t effect the price of the food. Perfect overall, will continue earning my business.

Best Mexican in Humboldt. I’m not kidding. Order the Enchilada combo, and get verde sauce on it. With the rice and beans, this meal is heaven! Not to mention cheap! Plus live music. Of course, the music was a cowboy band, so that wasn’t so great, but I have been there when they had a Peruvian ensemble with Pan Pipes. But you don’t go there for the entertainment, you go there for the food. Chapala is the best there is!

This is the place I go to when there aren’t any other options. They aren’t bad, but they aren’t spectacular. Service is so-​so, food is average. For instance, when a different restaurant might top something with salsa and vegetables and a nice cheese as well as sour cream and guac, they’ll likely go with the standard lettuce SC and guac. It’s simple. It’s okay. But not excellent.

I only give this place 2 stars because the owner and staff were nice. I had the Mexican Pizza and it was horrid. I could not even finish it (for me that is saying a lot). It was soggy and dripping with fat. The place seemed fairly clean and I hear the drinks are good, but I will not be back for the food!

Bland horrible boring and gross. I’m sorry but there are far better places to go to the «shrimp burritos» we got to go were a terrible disappointment I was really hungry and I couldn’t finish the flavorless mush.

This place was just BAD. The look of the food was disgusting, the smell was questionable, and the taste was horrific! And this place is beyond over priced! I got chile relleno and an enchilada and my boyfriend got a beef burrito and taco. We also got stuffed jalepeno poppers with ranch. Our plates were slathered in unidentifiable sauces, so much so, that everything was soggy upon arrival. For the first time in my restaurant experience, I was dreading taking a bite, it looked so unattractive. The food was served kinda warm/​lukewarm, but definitely far from hot. They didn’t look or smell like enchalada sauces; they smelled flavorless and tasted flavorless and awful. My relleno tasted like rotten eggs. My boyfriend’s burrito was stale and the beef tasted like it was OLD and EXPIRED. The cheese in his burrito and my enchilada was not mexican, barely melted, not quality, and too thick. This place couldn’t even get the ranch right! The ranch was dipping sauce for our jalepeno poppers (which were frozen and not freshly made). It was incredibly watery, not thick enough at all. I couldn’t even eat passed 2 bites of my dinner with out wanting to vomit. So I got the rest in a to-​go box and gave it to a homeless guy who was talking to himself. He took two bites, then tossed it away. I couldn’t even muscle out a lie when the waitress came by to ask how everything was. This is the WORST place i have EVER eaten at. It’s like cafeteria-​OVER PRICED– mexican food. There is no other word for it than BAD. JUST BAD.
You could say, the live music is a plus, but the food is so bad, the live music doesn’t change my opinion of the restaurant at all. The service was eh, nothing special. If you think this is good, I take pity on you and encourage you to go anywhere else. Heck, any taco truck around beats this place by FAR.

Great service and ambiance. The live music is a nice touch.

Gave them a second chance and was still unimpressed. They completely messed up my order (again) and when I called to tell them the girl just laughed and said «oh sorry I didn’t charge you for it anyways»…ok? And also they need to stop putting their burritos in a box and wrap them like a real burrito…

Pues quien no le ponga 5 estrellas a este restaurante simplemente no tiene ni idea de comida mexicana. Alguno esta demasiado acostumbrado al tex-​mex y este restaurante no va de eso, desde luego cuanto daño ha hecho Taco Bell. Bueno, a lo que voy, el burrito es simplemente el mejor que he probado en USA, buenísimo, esta siendo un visto y no visto. Trato cordial, buena música en Español y buena relación calidad precio. Nada que objetar. Totalmente recomendable.

Wow. With all the great Mexican restaurants in town, I’m surprised at all the good reviews of Chapala. Our entire table agreed the food was terrible. Humdrum salsa, stale chips, canned beans, packaged crunchy taco shells… seriously? If I wanted that I’d let my mom cook me tacos. In the midwest. And if I am to pay $ 4 for a mundane microbrew, I expect there to be a tap involved.
On the positive side, service was fine… and I like the live music they have there. If we ever return, it will be for margaritas and entertainment only.

Mediocre. Too many peppers and not enough onions in my fajitas. Roomy atmosphere. Ok service. Unremarkable salsa. Incredibly average experience.

Good food and friendly service enough said, could improve on people remembering to come back and take your order but otherwise a good place, anything below three stars won’t do this place justice, only people who complain are those that had mexican food from the bay or whatever that means because i had all kinds of food from the bay and its not that good as places here

Went in on a Tuesday afternoon, I gave it one star because we were seated immediately and the décor reminded me of a trip to Acapulco. Service was slow if not completely ignored us. The «Salsa» was served in two pitchers alongside a basket of rock hard cardboard chips. Beware, the «salsa» is tomato sauce in two indescribable flavors of tomatoesque liquid. I ordered the Deluxe Tostada; served in a large shell (for an extra $.25), unfortunately I asked for it with chicken, which I’m pretty sure was tuna soaked in «salsa». My husband had the carne asada — which was a bit far from palatable. The coronas were great!

Got the steak fajitas for dinner. Wasn’t much steak and everything was cooked/​served in a tomato sauce? Never had fajitas served in a tomato sauce before… it hid the taste of everything! Only one guy waiting tables so service was a little slow. Server was very helpful and polite though. The Waiter gets 5 stars, the food gets 1 star. Feeling a little generous with 3 stars.

Really this is the best Mexican food in town. Only Oaxaca can hold a candle to it and I love going to both.

Went here on Sunday because Oaxaca Grill was closed. It was not good. Chips were nearly stale. Salad that came with meal was wet from lettuce not being dryed properly. Drowned in cheap dressing. Chicken mole was not good. Chicken was tough. Mole some of the worst I’ve had. Fajitas decent at best. Sauce closet to Italian than Spanish. Been about 5 times over the years and this was the worst.
Next time Oaxaca Grill is closed, we will opt for something other than Mexican.

Ugh, okay, so where to begin…
This place seems like it doesn’t even try to be good. Upon walking into the restaurant, I quickly noticed that they don’t pay much attention into the restaurant’s ambiance. I thought, «Well, hopefully the foods good». WRONG!
My boyfriend ordered a tamale combo (comes with rice and beans), and I ordered a chile relleno combo. The waitstaff was polite and prompt enough, but when the waiter brought us our meals we both were horrified. The meal looked bland, colorless, and I have to say, the sauce on my chile relleno looked suspiciously vomitish. I thought, «Well, maybe it tastes better then it looks». Turns out, wrong again.
The meal was tasteless, and utterly inedible. It didn’t have even the slightest semblance of the authentic Mexican food I’ve had in San Francisco, or San Diego.
I hate to say it, but it was tasted like a microwaved sock.
On the positive side…
The beans and rice, were fine (edible), and tasted possibly fresh. The Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe paintings on the wall were a nice touch. Other than that… uhh…

The first thing that struck me was that the wait staff were well-​dressed in black pants and white shirts. They proved to be both professional and friendly. I was with someone who was inordinately thirsty and it was almost comical how quickly his water got refilled… like, 4 times. That said, I didn’t feel that we were being hovered over, which nobody wants when they’re relaxing over a nice meal.
I had their «guacamole salad» and a chicken tamale. My companion had quesadillas which came with guacamole, tomato, shredded lettuce, and I think black olives. He also had refried beans. All of the food tasted fresh and delicious.
One note: my tamale — I’m used to abuela-​style, steamed in the corn husks so the masa comes out really moist and flavorful. This seemed more like corn bread. Not bad, just not what I was expecting.
Our order was taken quickly, drinks were served immediately, and our food order did not take too long at all. I really liked the ambiance. Everything from the beautiful front door to the walls and the quiet atmosphere. Very enjoyable dinner, start to finish.