El Cholo Cafe Pasadena

I’m not sure why but I used to hate this place, however after a couple of more times trying it I love it! I don’t go out for Mexican very often but this is conveniently located near work and the service is fantastic, the food was delicious, fresh, and great quality I will continue to come!

Mariachi singers were fun, margaritas and orchata were delicious, and I ate everything on my plate (chicken chimichangas). Chips are NOT gluten free but staff can point out menu items that are GF.
Street parking (meter) found 2 blocks away.

I have always been a fan to Gabacho style Mexican food as much as I like British Style Indian food. They offer great quality food in a fantastic atmosphere. The service is always very good as well. The table side Guacamole is tops and so are the Margaritas.
The place is very child friendly and the kids (5 months olds) seem to be entertained by the people walking by and atmosphere on the patio.

I love this place! Fresh food and the location is in such a great spot. Their margaritas are so good.

I had been wanting to try this place. Unfortunately I was very disappointed. We checked in and got seated within a few minutes. We ended up sitting at the table about twenty minutes before someone even came to the table to ask us if we even wanted water. We decided to just have a margarita which was ok. Nothing spectacular as we were hoping for. We also decided just to order an appetizer because looking around people were waiting for a long time just to even order. As expected we waited almost an hour just for that. It was good. Again nothing spectacular. It was quite disapointing. The server was friendly when he finally got to us. Honestly a waste of time and expectations. Sadl I wont be coming back here again. The patio outsifde was nice to sit at though …

A few months ago, my wife and her friend dined here after an event at the civic center across the street and had one of worse experiences she had ever had in a restaurant. I was so bad that the GM Yudi, comped the table, gave them an extra entrée to go home and a gift certificate for another visit.
Last night we were in the area and decided to use the gift certificate for dinner. Our server Alex started our evening with outstanding service. He was witty, sarcastic and funny. The food was one of the best Mexican meals I have had. The food was fresh, flavorful and plentiful. My wife pulled Yudi to the table to compliment her on our experience and we will be back when we are in the area again!

Pretty good. Off menu crab, shrimp, and spinach enchilada was great. Chile Colorado was good, perhaps a bit dry. Blended strawberry margarita was delicious. Worth a visit. The chips and salsa were also on point.

LOVE this place! My fiancé and I eat at El Cholo, Pasadena all the time… especially for happy hour. The service is great, the margaritas are perfection, and the food is amazing. The Table side guacamole is the best there is! I highly recommend it :)
Recently, we held our wedding engagement party at El Cholo. The restaurant did an excellent job of organizing, catering, and setting everything up just the way we wanted it. Very accommodating! Our event went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time. Literally, every time I needed anything, one of the servers was right there to assist me. Couldn’t have asked for a better service/​experience.
If you haven’t been to El Cholo yet, I highly suggest you pay it a visit… OR if you plan on hosting an event any time soon, El Cholo might be the best fit for you. Just remember… no meal is complete without their incredible table-​side guacamole.

Great Service! Food was just ok…
Went for dinner and ordered chicken fajitas «mostly vegetables and little chicken. My Friend ordered ceviche tostada and it was good! Just needed a Little moré lime!
Carlos was our Waiter. He was very attentive and professional! He recommended Cadillac margaritas which were awesome!!! He checked in regularly with us and always ensured we had everything we needed. When I got my fajitas he came by and noticed my dissatisfaction and offered to remake them or If I wanted to order something else. It was late so I decided to stay with the fajitas but was really appreciative with the offer. Outstanding service!

El Cholo is a very nice family Mexican resturant. Located across from the Pasadena convention center and set in a mall. It is a great alternative to convention center food. I had the fish tacos which were tasty. I like their guacamole which is prepared at your table. Portions are huge. Service is also very good. Larger parties accomodated and they have a very reasonable lunch buffet. Street and lot parking nearby.

Bring the whole family this place can handle a crowd.
Service is awesome and the rating goes up with it. Mexican food in California is a wild blend of so many local twists that El Cholo gives you a taste of the many ways to experience it all. Try the Taste of History platter to get most options in one sitting.
Go for Mole dishes to get a bit more authentic. Have a burrito for those comfort food guests.
Oh yea, green tamales are seasonal. But worth the experience.
Enjoy!

Meh. Food is whatever. We had tortilla soup. Guacamole and chips. Ceviche. The service was nice the atmosphere is k. But I’d rather go somewhere else. It’s just average

Went to Paseo Colorado yesterday with my girlfriend to watch the jungle book and decided to stop at el cholo for a quick lunch and margarita. Walked in with no reservation and got seated promptly in the patio. Chips and salsa served immediately and our server Carlos came within seconds. I Ordered the coconut margarita which was fantastic.
Our server Recommended bbq ribs that sounded appetizing but I was craving enchiladas. Ordered the enchilada suiza «very tasty!» Our server Carlos was fabulous. He was attentive, professional and always anticipated our request. Overall a great experience and would definitely return!
Thank You Carlos. Your Service is appreciated!

The 2016 Unilocal 500, Review #095:
Tortilla Soup = Good.
Chicken Chimichangas = Tasty!
Cheese Enchilada/​Pork Tamale. = Delicious!
Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas = outstanding very filling!
Abundant leftovers.
I observed the entire staff and I HAVE TO SAY that they are very well dressed, neat, polite and on top of their game. I must say that I nearly always give 3-​stars to a decent place. 4-​stars to a great experience and 5 to place that I return to and have a second grand experience. There is no doubt in my mind that no matter day or time you show up that this will be a positively memorable experience.
Oh do yourself a favor… ask to be seated in Omar’s section. This guy isn’t just great… I am not even sure if I could get the words to describe my satisfaction… and I am a Shakespeare guy.
To boot he makes it as a shout out.
Nice job Omar. You are an asset to this place. Unilocal friends: Take heed!

We visited El Cholo on Easter Sunday at about 12noon for a party of four. We did not have reservations. When we arrived, we were seated right away. Today, you had a choice of buffet meal with one drink for $ 26.00 or you could order off the regular menu.
We were seated in a great patio seat, and it was an absolutely beautiful day to be sitting outside.
Our server was efficient; however, definitely a little bit on the quiet side. Two of us had the buffet and two ordered from the regular menu.
I personally had the buffet, which I found to have a very good selection of everything including a sampling of many of the hot dishes found on the menu. There were also several desserts and juices available.
I would give the food a ⁷⁄₁₀. I thought it was good; however, lacked some of the originality and exceptional flavor that I have found in other Mexican food. The churros at the end of the meal were excellent.
I found the atmosphere to be quite charming and pleasant. Overall, I would give the place a 4 out of 5, and would definitely return again in the future.

Was a little surprised the reviews for this place were on the lower end.
Plenty of parking since it’s part of the larger mall. However, this place gets extremely crowded, so parking can actually take a while oddly.
The interior of this place is large with indoor and outdoor seating. Definitely good for larger groups. The service started off a little questionable, as no one was around to seat us. However once we got seated, our waiter was great.
The food was good overall. The enchilada was a little on the dry side for me, but it was still tasty. My favorite dish of the El Cholo restaurants is the Green Corn Tamales, which is only available from May through October. I definitely recommend trying this dish if you can. The food is pricey, so if you’re really hungry, your bill may come out on the steep side, just FYI.
Overall, good Mexican food spot.

El Cholo is alright depending what you order.
THE AMBIANCE:
This is the bougie El Cholo location (Pasadena). The space is great — big, windows, patio. There is ample searing and an outdoors patio with its own bathrooms.
THE FOOD:
We started off with the Sonora Style Nachos (beans, tomato salsa, sour cream, and guacamole; $ 9.25). The nachos — bleh, not good. They’re those types of nacho platters where the cheese melts and completely sticks to everything. You tug on one nacho chip and everything comes with it.
I love enchiladas. They are usually my go-​to. I’ve been to El Cholo various times to order enchiladas but I had never tried the seafood enchiladas («Enchiladas Mariscos») until my last visit. I thought they were tasty and enjoyed them although they were lukewarm. The enchiladas come with lobster, scallops, and shrimp with jack cheese and chipotle cream sauce. Although good, they’re not worth $ 18.75. Definitely overpriced.
When I think of authentic Mexican food I think of hot plates steaming with hot food and good FLAVOR. I can’t comment on my past food experiences at El Cholo because it’s been a while but the nachos are definitely not it and the enchiladas could have come out hotter.
For a drink I decided to try the coconut margarita and had to exchange it for a beer. Too many coconut shavings. It was overbearing. The alcohol in that thing was generous.
THE TIPS:
You can find more authentic and cheaper Mexican food restaurants. I heard people mainly come here for the alcohol.

I’m really not sure why his place only has 3 stars (actually 2.5 when I checked a this past weekend…)
Anyway, I was visiting Southern California and had to get my Mexican food fix on… So my girlfriend and I came here; she has been here many times and trusts Unilocal reviews as well, but she said the reviews don’t do this place justice and… she was right!
We ate a lot of chips… oy…and we also ordered margaritas (she got the strawberry one and I got the regular one… both on the rocks); they were pretty strong…
My friend ordered chicken enchiladas and a taco and I got the veggie enchiladas… I didn’t realize only one enchilada comes with rice and beans, so I had to order another one a la carte… I wish they just had two enchiladas together but, to be honest, the enchiladas were soooo good that I didn’t mind; I think it is their cheese… mmm! Will def be back…
The location is super cute as well; lots of cute places around and it’s a nice downtown area to walk around in.

Came here for the lunch special — $ 11 all you can eat… except the choices were very limited and not all that good.
* Rice
* Fish
* Carnitas — The only good thing
* Cheese mole
* Veggies
* Tortilla
* Salad
* Soup — unlabeled soup
It just was not good. Plus the service is really slow. We were seated and were waiting for a bit — the place wasn’t even busy. I was kinda disappointed.
PARKING:
Underground

Was fortunate enough to attend a wedding rehearsal dinner here recently. The whole outside patio was reserved so that was nice and private for all the guests to enjoy. We were served chips and salsa at the outset and then the tableside made guacamole. We had too many chips. Got totally tortilla chip wasted.
Appetizer platter included cheese quesadilla, chimichangas, crab & beef taquitos and nachos with guacamole & sour cream. It was pretty good. All of the choices were tasty. I especially liked the chimichangas.
The main course was buffet style with hot tray ready food served to you by the staff. Spanish rice, beans, blue corn chicken enchiladas, green corn tamales, chile relleno and crunchy tacos. The rice & beans were standard. The enchiladas were good. It was served with a good amount of chicken. The green corn tamales were ok. The chile rellenos were too oily and rather tasteless. The crunchy tacos were decent but not enough meat was in it. They put bell peppers at the bottom to kinda make it seem like there’s a lot of meat until you bite into it. That was a bummer.
Service was a little lacking at times. Had to ask for waters all around initially and for refills later on. Other than that it was decent at the buffet line and when chips/​salsa were refilled and appetizer plates brought out.

El cholo

I’ve been going to El Cholo for years; colleagues and I use to meet at the one on Western for lunch.
This location is on the upper level at the Paseo. This past Sunday was probably my 4^th visit at this location. We made a reservation for 4 through OpenTable. When we arrived, we discovered that the Pasadena Chalk Art Festival was occurring, so it was very busy with people and there were live bands playing. With that said, we opted to sit outside and listen to music. The patio can be sunny, but by 5:45pm, the patio is shaded.
This was my first time sitting on the patio and I enjoyed it. Fountain, shaded, people-​watching & live mariachi band. Nice!
Drinks? Margaritas, of course. They’re good enough.
Food?
Their table side guacamole is very good. I’d come here for margaritas & this alone.
My favorite item is the Blue Corn Chicken Enchiladas. My daughter ordered and thought it was good, too.
But, most of the other items are pretty standard; lots of cheese.
As a bonus, they had a photographer going around taking pictures for free (they charged if you wanted bigger prints).
Service was friendly, but slowed down as it got busier.
I’d say its slightly better than most national chains.