El Charko Grill & Bar

We had a little extra time on the way to the airport, so we headed to Old Town to get lunch. Parking was horrific, and El Charko’s offered free parking, so we took the bait! So glad we did! I love the menu idea of small, cheap tacos so you can try 2 – 3 different flavors. I had a fish taco, and the queso taco with pork. Really tasty, loved the fried cheese «tortilla» nestled in my flour tortilla! Lemonade was fresh squeezed and very good. Hope I’m in the area again someday so I can try some of the other tacos!

We were walking at Old Town and ended up here on a Sunday night. The place was pretty empty. I was hesitant to go inside. I was super hungry so I decided to give it a shot.
Our server was also very friendly and attentive. She recommended the pastor alambres tacos. HUGE portions. I have to say the food was actually really good. Can’t go wrong with bacon in it as well.
The pitcher of margarita we ordered took a while to come out. There was so much ice in the pitcher and it appeared to be watered down. Definitely not a fan.
Overall, reasonable priced for Old Town compared to other restuarants in the area. Food came out quick and good service.

I am just getting around to writing my reviews from a 2 week trip down to southern California I took over Christmas and New Years ²⁰¹⁵⁄₁₆. I’ve been to San Diego many times but never to Old town. We decided to stay right in Old town so it would be convenient to explore the area.
It was and chilly and getting late for lunch around 2:00 p.m. We did not want to ruin our dinner so we decided it would be great to get a bowl of soup. After looking over the Unilocal reviews we stopped and looked at several different restaurant menus to see what their soup selection was.
We picked this place and figured we would get a nice bowl of soup for $ 6.25. We ordered the
SOPA DE TORTILLA. It was served in a large shallow bowl that was less than half full and was not served hot like soup should be served. It was barely warm. It had a couple slivers of tortilla chips and these small white cubes that were chewy. I thought it was tofu. I called for the waiter and the manager or owner was sitting next to us talking with another customer and asked me what the problem was. I told him the menu didn’t say the soup had tofu in it. He informed me that it was NOT tofu, it was cheese. I took another taste and it was cheese but they floated and never melted. That shows how cold the soup was. The soup was probably right out of a box or at least it tasted like that.
It was a cold day and they had all the doors and windows open with no heaters like the other restaurants with outside patios nearby. We sat inside at a booth. We were both uncomfortable because it was so cold inside we kept our coats on during lunch and the fact that we were sitting on hard wood with no cushions made it worse. It was not a good experience and If I go back to the Old town area I would not return

Steak burrito had a good flavor, but the steak was impossible to chew. Will not be coming back.

Stopped by while wandering around Old Town. Saw there was a taco Tuesday special and decided to try it. Not all of their taco varieties are on the taco Tuesday menu. Our options were chorizo, chicken, pastor, and fish. We didn’t try the fish, but the other three were tasty. The pastor came with pineapple on it which was a yummy surprise. The décor is warm and comfortable. The space is much smaller than I first realized because of the mirrors. Didn’t feel cramped. Our server was helpful, quick, and friendly. We’ll come back.

Excellent food, drinks and service! Had dinner at 6pm on a Saturday night and it was not crowded at all. Will definitely make the drive and come back.

This place was a solid 3 star for me.
We ventured out to Old Town on a weekday and ended up here for dinner. We ordered couple tacos each, chicharones de queso for appetizer & zucchini blossom quesadilla. The server was quick to give us chips and salsa which we appreciated since we were hungry.
Food took a little longer to arrive. Now the place wasnt busy at all — just another table of four at the corner and couple guys at the bar. Here comes my chicharones de queso. It was a big cheese crisp with a dallop of guac. It really wasn’t what I was expecting.
Tacos came after and they were all delicious. Pastor was a bit sweeter than what I would like but still good. The star of the night was the skirt steak. It was flavorful and really tender. For about $ 3 – 4 per taco it’s not bad but not great.
Our quesadilla never came though. We were waiting and waiting until we just figured our server didn’t put in the ticket. Would we come back? Most likely not. It was a good experience to try a new spot though.

First, it must be said: The food here is terrific and at very reasonable prices. Our server was also very friendly and attentive. The problem I have is with the alcohol. We set a course for this place, in part, because this very Unilocal page says to come for their happy hour from 3 – 6 p.m. daily. I called ahead to make sure they did their happy hour on the weekend (it was a Sunday). I was told they do.
When we arrived, we expected to see some sort of happy hour menu (there wasn’t). When we asked our server if they had a happy hour she said they didn’t. The bartender corrected her and said he’d knock two bucks off the house margarita. That was, apparently, their happy hour. OK, fine.
Looking closer at the bar, we all noticed they had beer tap handles but zero bottles of liquor. That made us suspicious. We asked what kind of tequila was in the house margarita. The waitress immediately looked hesitant to answer, but after a bit more friendly prodding, we got her to admit it was a 20 percent ABV «tequila.» They were essentially serving wine margaritas. We ordered one just to give it a shot, and sure enough, it tasted like margarita mix with very cheap liquor added.
This wouldn’t be a big deal if they were upfront about this, but there was a clear effort to conceal this fact. The good news is they had a great selection of craft beers on tap. Based on positive Unilocal reviews of their margaritas, I have to assume they recently lost their liquor license. I say own it – hawk your great beer selection and make the fake margaritas (and other cocktails) way cheaper.
Again, food here was great. I’ve never seen a larger selection of tacos made so authentically — and with healthier lettuce-​wraps as an option instead of tortillas. Eat here and then walk a few doors down in either direction and have a proper margarita.

This is at the edge of old town so not a typical touristy joint. But the food is top notch! Eddie took care of us tonight and suggested the original margaritas (home made fresh like nice) and a bunch of tacos. The pastor, fish and chorizo are stand outs. Their fresh salsa is spicy and yummo.
Go here for fresh tacos and craft beer. Don’t go here if you like tex-​mex did that has nacho cheese and sour cream thrown on everything. Good fresh food. And it’s affordable!

This is a review on the margaritas and service only. El Charko (which I mistakenly thought was El Charro at first) is small and modern with attractive décor. It’s hard to find if you’re on the main drag, but if you’d like a quality margarita, keep walking a little further and give it a go. DH and I felt very welcome and were glad to see it was happy hour. $ 5 for their homemade house margarita. No sour mix here, only fresh lemons and limes, agave and tequila. It was super refreshing and went down way too easy. My only complaint is there was tons of ice. More drink and less ice por favor! We are going to come back to try the food– lots of vegetarian, vegan and paleo options. Everything is marked on the menu, so that’s a great sign. I will update this review after I’ve had the food.

We chose El Charko for catering services for my niece’s wedding. The Mexican food is great, but the catering service was lousy, lousy, lousy! They didn’t attend to everyone as much as we liked them to. They didn’t even cut the wedding cake, as a result, they didn’t even distribute the wedding cake for dessert! A $ 400 cake went to waste! No one ate besides the bride and groom during the cutting of the cake! The patrons were patiently waiting for someone to serve it.
Meanwhile I see the owner laughing it up out back as if he’s swimming in his profits. This is someone’s wedding for crying out loud! My niece was very disappointed in their service and asked her mom if anyone noticed as she was trying to fight back tears. Is this what El Charko wants their customers to think of them when they realize their special event is not important enough to deliver a stellar performance?
We will never recommend them or refer business, regardless of the fact that the food was incredible. It’s also about the experience and this one left a bad taste in our mouth.

A few friends and I had planned to go to Old Town on taco Tuesday for a few weeks, but we did not decide on a restaurant until the last minute. I was tired of Miguel’s and we knew that both Café Coyote and Fred’s would have long wait times. One would think that there would be an endless amount of restaurant options as there is a Mexican restaurant on every corner in Old Town, but after a quick Google search, I realized that many do not participate in Taco Tuesday! I finally came across El Charko Grill & Bar and was surprised that I had never heard of them before. We later found out that it is quite new and has been only been around for about a year, which I think is a big reason for it’s abnormally slow crowd on a Tuesday.
The restaurant itself is a bit small, but really nice. The bar is large enough with very nice hanging lights and padded bar stools. The tables and chairs scattered throughout the restaurant are a dark wood with little wear and tear. There is also a decent sized outdoor patio. Overall, I really like the look of the place.
I ordered the vegetarian burrito with added rice. It was HUGE and very good. It also reheated well the next day, which is not always the case with burritos. I also like to add salsa to my burritos which added an extra kick to the already great flavor as I really enjoyed their salsa. Unfortunately the chips were a bit thick and I was not a fan of those. I think with different chips, I would have considered the chips and salsa one of my favorites.
My friends ordered tacos which came with a container of 4 different salsas to choose from. It seemed that the fish tacos come with a nice garnish on top of the meat, but my friend who ordered the chicken taco was disappointed that her taco came completely plain with just meat and the tortilla. Luckily, my burrito came with a scoop of lettuce and tomatoes on the plate which I gladly gave to her. She said that really helped and ended up enjoying the taco.
My biggest complaint is that the waitress was incredibly slow. She was friendly enough, but with how dead the place was, there was really no excuse to bring out all 6 meals individually so that by the time the 6^th person received their plate, the first person’s food was already cold. She also took way too long to bring the check which caused our dinner to go a little later than we would have liked for a work night.

We came in and were greeted and sat right away. Ordered a michelada that was so amazing! Ordered a queso fundido starter with mushrooms that was delicious. The best dish by far that I’ve had in San diego was the Alambres al pastoryummy!
Give this place 5 stars. Food and service were excellent!

3.5 stars but I’ll round up to 4 to give them the benefit of the doubt.
My friends and I were on the lookout for a new Taco Tuesday place in Old Town and came across El Charko. After wondering why we had never heard of it before, we realized it’s only about a year old. It seemed that not a lot of other people had heard about it either as it was quite empty for a Taco Tuesday. Although we appreciated not having to wait for a table or be crammed in a loud room with other diners, it seemed odd that it was so empty.
We asked the waitress about the Taco Tuesday specials and learned that it’s not the entire taco menu but just four of the tacos on special for $ 2.50: the pollo, bistec, pescado and pastor. I get that this includes one taco from each of the four main meats but it would be nice if they included the vegetarian taco too. Not that it’s a huge savings but it just makes vegetarians, like my boyfriend, feel more included.
I, however, do eat some meat and ordered the bistec and pollo. Both the steak and chicken were probably the best meats that I’ve ever had in a taco. They were seasoned and cooked perfectly! But I found it odd that the tacos are served plain, just meat and tortilla, with a small topping selection served on the side. Unfortunately, the only toppings offered are a hot salsa, mild salsa, limes, onions and cilantro. I’ve never been to Mexico so I’m not sure if these are traditional toppings but I’m used to having lettuce, tomato and maybe cheese on my tacos. Luckily, my friend happened to order the veggie burrito and it came with a garnish of shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes. She offered it to me and I used it to add extra flavor and texture to my tacos. While the tacos are good plain, they’re even better with lettuce and tomato and I wish they’d offer those as a toppings choice. A few of my friends ordered the fish taco and it did come with cabbage and perhaps other toppings too.
I appreciated being given the choice between flour and corn tortillas, which is stated on the menu but I had to specifically ask our waitress about it. We learned that the default is corn but I prefer flour so I’m glad I asked. The flour tortilla did arrive slightly crispy though, which I wasn’t expecting, but ended up being pretty good.
The tortilla chips and salsa wasn’t the best. The chips were too thick and not salted enough and the salsa lacked flavor.
The oddest part of the meal was that the waitress brought each of our plates to the table separately and several minutes passed between the first plate and the fifth and final plate. It made it a bit awkward debating between being polite and waiting for everyone to get their food and eating our food before it got cold.
But on the plus side, our waitress had no problem splitting the check five ways for us, which made it much easier to settle the bill at the end of the meal.

Great service! Great food! Parking free for one hour. Their tortilla chips are baked and they were amazing! They paleo
Options. They thrive on making everything home made and healthy! Our server was great! I can’t wait to come back!

This place was somewhere between a 3-​star and 4-​star. Since they are new, I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt and go 4.
I stopped by on a Monday night. They were not as busy as the places down the street, but they did have a reasonable level of activity. I sat out on the deck.
Pros:
* Service was good. My server was friendly.
* Pastor taco was really great. (seriously, just order 3 of these — you will not regret it). It had pineapple chunks and a great flavor.
Cons:
* The other taco that I ordered (beef… I forget what style) was nothing to write home about. Just get the Pastor; Trust me.
* Chairs outside were not comfortable.
* Chips and salsa were nothing to write home about.

El Charko is a relatively new restaurant in Old Town (less than a year old, I think). I noticed it a few times while walking by, and finally made a point to try it out – I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.
I normally don’t trust the Mexican restaurants in Old Town because they seem targeted for tourists who don’t have the refined palate of a San Diegan (haha). I dunno, I’m…cynical, I guess.
My partner and I had a bunch of tacos and sopes with a variety of meats and we enjoyed it (chorizo was our favorite). The prices were good, too. There are different specials on different days of the week.
There is a nice outdoor area, so it’s dog friendly (although our waitress seemed afraid of our dog and wouldn’t get near the table! That was fine, though – not everyone likes dogs.)
We’ll be back!

Awesome place with absolutely delicious street tacos located in a rather quiet location amidst the hustle and noise of old town. Have been here a couple of times on Taco Tuesday and couldn’t be more pleased with the product served and the service provided. My recommendation is to come here and try all the taco meats etc… But I would highly recommend the Tacos Al Pastor, they are freaking delicious (little chunks of pineapple mixed in)! Grab 3 of these bad boys and wash them down with one of their delicious house margaritas, you’ll thank me later!
Pros–
Outdoor seating
Taste
Taco options
Drinks
Taco Tuesday’s
Service
Less crowded
Cons–
A bit off the main drag in old town
Parking

We had a nice and relaxing lunch here while visiting Old Town San Diego.
It is not in the center of all the action but it’s a nice walk from here to all the other shops in Old Town.
We sat in their cute patio and were able to listen to the Rock en Espanol that was playing indoors.
Their menu said they have Mexico city style tacos which I never knew were different. I had:
*Beef taco with flour tortilla which was ok
*Tacoqueso al pastor which was a taco with a cheese crust on top that was very good
*Chuleta ahumada (smoked pork chop) taco with corn tortilla which was good and different
The tacos themselves come plain but they give you a Choice of green guacamole like spicy sauce, cilantro and onions as your toppings
My Mango margarita in a mason jar was also very enjoyable in the hot weather

Excelente lugar para ir a comer con la familia, se los recomiendo, economico y buen servicio y atencion por parte del personal, auntentico sabor de la cocina mexicana

A weekend afternoon of visiting the Whaley house and surrounding shoppes in Old Town San Diego can build up an appetite. However most of the restaurants in the center can get crowded quickly, and all you want to do is get a quick bite and maybe some good service.
El Charko Grill is gem that rests on the far end of Old Towns main drag (across from the cemetery) on San Diego Ave.
ECG claims that it prepares its food in the style of Mexico City. Yes that style is different from what you’re use to in SoCal. The menu seemed legit as to what they serve up but I was in the mood the most basic of all food groups: Tacos!
Got a chicken & pastor taco with a Jamaica drink. I did feel that the tacos though served warm were a bit on the dry side. They needed to be dressed with salsa and some lime. That being my only critique, the flavor was spot on (especially for the pastor taco!) and 2 tacos were the right amount for me. Price wasn’t bad either. Less than $ 3 per taco which isn’t bad considering you’re in a über touristy part of SD.
Miscellaneous:
The place is super clean and the interior has small tables that are spaced around the bar area. The bar is definitely the main focus. Which is why it says «bar & grill» in the name… duh!
Great selection of food & drinks.
Service was OUTSTANDING. Our server was always polite and attentive. Thank you!
Also offers outdoor seating in their cozy patio. We were a party of 8 and had plenty of room.
Overall:
I would most definitely like to come back to try their more complex meals. The place is easy to find and I can’t talk up the service enough. If not the food then do drop by for a cold Chelada or margarita with some family & friends.
Yes people… tacos are a food group.
¡Ay los watcho!

Que decepción, el darse cuenta, que en este mundo hay personas tan llenas de odio, y aprovechan la tecnología para insultar, desprestigiar a personas honradas trabajadoras y sobre todo humanas y respetuosas como el Sr. Juan Carlos (El Charko) me das tristeza que solo reflejas el odio en el que vives.
1) la comida exquisita
2) servicio extraordinario
3) atención del Sr. Juan Carlos mis respetos todo un caballero