Chula’s Cantina and Grill

Visiting from San Francisco Bay Area and I didn’t think we’d find anything worthy of our intense Mexican food cravings. Let me tell you! This place is amazing! The décor, chips, salsa, beef enchiladas, carne asada, beans, etc…(everything) was better than the Bay Area. Hope to visit Oregon again soon just to eat here.

FINALLY!!! We moved to Eugene just over 2 months ago from San Diego and have tried way to many Mexican restaurants that left us disappointed. We have now found our spot! Great, authentic, homemade food! Everything is made in house (except the flour tortillas). It is on the smaller side so if you are going with a group of more than 4, you might wait awhile. With 8 in our party, we had a pretty good sampling of the menu and not a single person was let down. Clean plates all the way around! Cannot wait to go back!

Pretty bland food (nothing mexican about it), flat salsa and margaritas though the service wasn’t too bad. My wife’s carnitas were very dry and old. The carnitas fajita altogheter was a fiasco !!! I thought that in Colorada the mexican food sucks, changed my mind by visiting Oregon !!!
Will avoid next time !

My boyfriend and I were excited to try Chula’s after driving by the old Mission location and seeing that it had new life with new paint and everything else! We went on a Saturday night and it was packed! We were greeted when we walked in and sat promptly. The service was good, the food was good (I had the chicken taquitos and my boyfriend had the street tacos), and they have awesome happy hour specials! Definitely worth a try!

I was expecting a hipster style mexicana spot for the college area but it was a pretty standard somewhat americanized mexican restuarant. Maybe my expectations were off.
From the Unilocalers pics I got the vibe this was a order up front type of spot, but it actually is a full service restaurant. Luckily I stopped in about 3pm on a Saturday and there was one other couple inside.
They had a «please wait to be seated» sign posted up front as I stood awkwardly waiting to eye screw the first worker to appear. It was a very quiet restaurant. Maybe some soft music so I don’t creep out the other guests as I’m gazing deep into their pupils.
We were sat by a nice, yet rather querky server who seemed to be rushed/​very busy yet there was only us and another table.
Complimentary chips and salsa were pretty standard. Chips were meh, but I did like the thickness of their salsa.
The green Chile verde was pretty tasty, came with 3 corn tortillas and a pinch of Lettuce and tomato. It was like a side salad for a 4 month old. The meat itself was tender and green Chile was pretty mild.
The spinach enchiladas on the menu were kind of weird, it said on the menu to pick a meat under the entire section but that is not the case with the spinach one only. It literally was just straight spinach and we got the crema with chicken also which was packed full of breast meat but these suckers were dry. Needed more sauce, inside and on top for sure.
Beans and rice on both were standard.
Horchata I couldn’t tell if it was homeade or not so I will just assume it might be? Had a little cinnamon punch which was nice.
Margarita was great for my wife, mild alcohol flavor just how she likes it, don’t expect a heavy pour of tequila. The ice had some issues, there were multiple huge chunks when it was a blended Margarita and you literally couldn’t drink it near the end because the large ice pieces. Not sure what’s going on with their blender?
I say this place is definetly worth a try, pretty average for now. seems like some great owners though and a decent spot with a few minor changes it could be pretty good. I know they are still pretty new.
One last thought. The owners walking through the restaurant with a bottle of hidden valley ranch is off putting because I hate hidden valley lol. Make your own! It’s cheaper and better tasting!

So excited that Eugene has worthwhile Mexican restaurant! Our server Dwaine was fantastic as well. You can tell the food was fresh and homemade salsas top the meal! They have street tacos or Texan tacos, tons of options and daily specials. Margaritas are tasty, and you can’t just have one. I suggest the pollo fandido to start your meal! That cream sauce is delicious! Keep it up Eugene needed this!

I had a fantastic experience here. Everyone was friendly and I loved the atmosphere. Very cute set up and decorations. The food came quick and was delicious. I got a huge burrito for only $ 6.95. I will be returning soon!

The menu looked promising, but unfortunately after waiting for 30 minutes to not even receive water, my girlfriend and I walked out. Pretty bummed about our experience, and wished I could have tried the food. The restaurant was not busy. 3, maybe 4 other couples were there. Whoever our waitress was figured it was more important to wander around the restaurant aimlessly than to serve her customers. Shame.

The main restaurant is VERY bright with lights and not cozy so we sat in the cantina. Large TV so fun for sports. Patio tables and chairs are what they use for seating. It was really tight and we had a hard time squeezing in to the inside seats because the table legs and neighbors were in the way (we are slender!)
Super friendly staff!!!
I would totally come here for beer, drinks, chips and salsa, nachos, etc. We had enchiladas and a sope. They were standard recipes but good.
Very affordable. Colleges were on break so I have no idea what the atmosphere would be like during the academic year.

I was excited to try this place because I’ve been missing good, Authentic Mexican food since moving to Eugene, but this place is just completely average. It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t much better than a Mexican chain restaurant. I had the combo plate with potato taquitos and a veggie enchilada with green sauce. It was fine; nothing stood out as good or bad. My two friends ordered the torta and beef enchiladas, respectively, and they had the same reaction. We were also in agreement that the rice was unappealing. It had peas and corn in it that were hollow, faded husks of their former selves.
It wasn’t bad, but the food wasn’t notable enough to make me want to return.

Good food.
Very attentive service.
The tortilla are home made and warm.
Sauces are house made and very good.
Great prices for the food.
Casual atmosphere.
I will come back.

Always excited to try a new place in town. We waited a couple months for them to work out any «new restaurant kinks».
Walked in for lunch today and the special was Enchiladas — my favorite!
I ordered the two enchilada special (comes with rice and beans). I chose chicken from a field of several protein sources. I then chose the spinach-​cheese sauce under sauce options. Our waitress had to ask the kitchen to clarify what it was — it’s a tomatillo base with spinach and cheese — sounded great!
My husband ordered shrimp fajitas and our friend got chicken enchiladas with the traditional sauce.
Our food came out and my enchiladas looked just like the traditional sauce my friend got. I asked the waitress about it and she assured me that the spinach, tomatillo and cheese was on the inside (which made no sense).
I used my fork to open the enchiladas. Enchilada #1 was filled with a mixture of chicken, broccoli and carrots. Enchilada #2 was plain chicken. Crazy!!! I sent it back after clarifying what I had ordered.
The next plate I got contained a tomatillo sauce and cheese (a good sign). l took a bite and got a mouthful of spinach (yea!). And another bite full of spinach. I opened them up — THERE WAS NO CHICKEN IN MY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS.
I asked for the manager — there was not one on site but a lead worker came over. He was very apologetic and informed me he would «comp me» the food that I did not order. He asked if there was anything else he could do. I suggested that if they wanted me to come back they might consider giving me a gift card as an incentive. He apparently had no authority to do so.
My friend’s regular enchiladas were meh — dry chicken and average sauce.
So why did I score this a 3? Because the shrimp fajitas were REALLY GOOD!!!
I had to get back to work, so I ended up not getting any lunch today with the exception of sneaky bites off my husband’s fajita platter…

The first time Bret & I ate here, we were really wanting some authentic street tacos. We ordered the steak tacos which were mediocre. Will not be ordering those again. We also ordered the chicken nachos which were so delicious. Since then, we haven’t ordered anything else off the menu and their large is 8.95! A great price and it always feeds both of us. Also, I love a good margarita and theirs are yummy. They have a nice selection of flavors too, but I have yet to try anything other than the strawberry. Soon, we plan to adventure out and try some new menu items. but until then, we are satisfied.
Their staff are upbeat and friendly, which is refreshing. I’m big on clean bathrooms and I approve.
They get four stars because as a Mexican restaurant, you have to have good tacos.

This place opened in the spot of another Mexican joint which wasn’t that good. Things are improved notably with the new business.
The color of the exterior is certainly striking: an intense bright blue that is probably visible from space. The interior is clean and seems smaller than it should be from the outside, about 100 seats including a sizable number in the bar area. When we arrived on a Monday night the dining room was mostly full, so we took a table in the bar.
The very chatty bartender pushed the margaritas hard (it was Margarita Monday according to the promotional schedule), but we laid off the alcohol and had soft drinks with our chips and salsa, which had a fair amount of vegetation and just enough heat to let you know it wasn’t ketchup. DLW had fajitas, which she liked, but had to ask for extra tortillas, which they brought without a problem. I had chili verde, a go-​to for me at Tex-​Mex places, and it satisfied. Rice and beans came with, and they were nothing special.
This place should do well with the UO crowd, with its everyday drink specials and cheap entrees with very satisfactory portions.

This place is brand new and it’s amazing. Right off the bat, as we walked through the door, the host and server greeted us and we’re really friendly. This place has a nice atmosphere. The salsa that comes with the chips is really tasty and when we got our meal (shredded beef enchilada crema & a California burrito) and they were both delicious. We both kept taking bites of each other’s, haha. Their homemade guac also cured my craving. We’ll be back time and time again.

Best Mexican in town! It reminds me of Tex Mex. We ordered the chicken tamales, ground beef tacos and original enchilada — all so very good!!! But the best item on the menu has to be their Queso dip! It is too die for! I have them add ground beef to it to make it chili con Queso. I’m so happy I found this place. Good after the game spot too, very open and airy bar with great atmosphere.

This place wasn’t was I thought it would be, definitely more Americanized Mexican food.
If anything meximerican.
Food:I got notified over 30 minutes after ordering my dish that there wasn’t any beans so I had to re-​order another $ 7.95 dish without beans.
Only to have our server return ten minutes later and announce no one in our party would be allowed beans, because they had run out two plates before.
Drinks: the first star goes to the margarita, I highly advise the Guava margarita over a mango.
Service: Our waitress needed to think about her words before she said them.
Some people like beans.
Décor: I give the second star to the décor, they have nice furnishings.
Overall: There are more brown people sitting on my couch than in this restaurant.
This review is written by two people of color.

I was excited driving by a month back when I saw this restaurant being remodeled. It’s a great location and I knew it just needed some love. My boyfriend and I came in this evening for some dinner and were pleasantly surprised.
The inside looks fresh and new. It’s clean, simple and no longer feels old and worn out. The menu is a good size and offers plenty of options. We ordered the loaded burrito and two taco combo, with a lemonade and water the total came out to $ 17.50. I easily have another meal left from the huge burrito.
The chips and salsa were great. I was happy that the salsa wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy.
We’ll be back. I look forward to seeing this restaurant succeed.

My boyfriend and I went here tonight for the first time for dinner! I’ve been excited for a New Mexican restaurant to open up in town.
We sat in the bar. Our server was a female who’s name we never caught. She was sort of all over the place even though at the time it wasn’t busy. It felt like she was rushing us at first even after we ordered drinks and said we wanted to hang out. Aside from that, we ordered Cadillac margaritas and chips and salsa/​guac to start. The margaritas were from a mix (you could tell) but they were good! The chips were amazing, salsa was great, and the guac was to die for!!! Some of the best guac I’ve had in Eugene.
Their menu was large and has a lot of good stuff on it. I knew looking at it that we would have to come back for a second visit anyways. We ordered their street tacos. Ground beef, chicken, carne asada. All of them were good! Chicken was definitely my favorite.
After we got our food, our server got off work. She turned our tab over to a male who was bartending as well. He was awesome! Honestly he will be a huge reason we will be back as well. He was extremely friendly, didn’t rush us, talked with us, made jokes about a football game on. He was totally awesome.
I think this is a great addiction to Eugene! Way better than the restaurant that was at the location previously. We will be back! Especially for the pitchers of margs! Yes. Pitchers!!!

I tried Chula’s on their 2^nd night of opening. I brought along two very hungry young boys (they just finished their football game). When we walked in we were greeted by very friendly staff who gave us the option of ordering at the counter or from our table. We chose the second option so we could spend some time making our choices. Before I get to the food I have to comment on the décor. I loved it!!! The wood tables were beautiful, and the teal accents and eclectic décor is very fun. I can’t wait to come here on warmer days when they open up the garage doors.
As for the food… we were not disappointed! Starting with the chips and salsa. I am very particular about both of these items, and Chula’s is my new favorite place for their chips and salsa alone. I had their chicken and pork street tacos (which are only $ 2.50 each!!!) and they were delicious. I loved that they had several different salsa’s and dressings to try as well. My 12 yr old had tamales for the first time in his life, and he scarfed them down. Everything that we had was very good. The service was prompt, friendly, and they worked as a team. It’s nice going to any type of business and you can tell that the entire staff takes ownership in ensuring that every guest that walks in the door is taken care of at all times.
We will be back very soon!