Chuy's — Restaurant in Evansville

I first discovered Chuy's a couple of years ago in Kennesaw, Georgia on New Year's Eve. Stopped at a nearby On the Border first and got no service. I had never heard of Chuy's but I saw the building in the distance and followed the glow from the sign. I thought it was a Chevy's at first but it was Chuy's (what's a Chuy's). That night, our food was incredibly delicious. I have been really excited about Chuy's coming to Evansville.

My mom is in the hospital nearby (almost two hours from home) and I stopped by Saturday night after visiting hours were over (just after 8 PM). It was pretty busy, had to wait 15 minutes. Not a problem.

I am an annoying vegan, I know, I know. The server was really nice about it when ordering. I went with the veggie enchiladas because they were only $12. I would have liked to have ordered fajitas but they were $20 (twice the price as my favorite Mexican spot). That's Chili's level pricing, way too expensive! Anyway, I just asked for no cheese. According to the internet everything else in the dish was vegan.

My kids eat whatever they want. One had a chimichanga and he loved it. I can't remember what the other ordered but he said it was basic. He had went for something cheaper too.

Also, the chips and salsa is worth talking about. I was surprised more reviews didn't mention this! The chips are excellent. They are thin, remind me of Chevy's or On the Border's Cantina Thins. But the salsa is really, really hot! It's probably a "medium" salsa but I was surprised by the kick it had. The kids switched to this jalapeño ranch they offered. They liked that stuff, even poured it all over their food.

My meal was pretty spicy too. The ranchero sauce is what put mine over the edge. It was spicier than I expected. I got the chili lime rice and should have got the regular Mexican rice instead. I really enjoyed the beans. The enchilada was good but I had to scrape all the sauce off.

My sweet tea was not good. I drank one and it was pretty bad. Our drinks sat empty for a long while. We needed refills because of that spicy salsa. She eventually brought another round and my tea tasted unsweetened and gross. I asked for another one and she made sure it was sweet. It wasn't good either. I ended up putting sugar packets in it and didn't drink much

It was a pretty average experience. I wanted to love it as my previous experience with Chuy's in Georgia was outstanding. But the Evansville visit fell well short in every way. It's not a bad restaurant but not a great one either. Prices are pretty high, service was okay, food was spicy, sweet tea was meh. Bill for all three meals was $50 which is more than my favorite Mexican restaurant but probably cheaper...

🌮 Food Review: Chuy’s Brings Real Tex-Mex to Town! 🌮

My mom and I decided to give Chuy’s a try—and we were not disappointed.

We’re originally from the Southwestern U.S., where we grew up with real Tex-Mex. Since moving here, most of the so-called “Tex-Mex” options have been bland, overly Americanized, and a bit of a letdown. But Chuy’s? Total game-changer. This reminds me more of places on the West Coast like El Torito or Acapulco restaurant chains. Which are far superior to anything we have out here full restaurant service wise. 

This is not the usual “Hoosier-Mex” you find in the area—flavorless and inauthentic (no offense, Hacienda 😅). Chuy’s brings bold, satisfying flavor and does things right.

✨ Highlights: • No white queso here—their yellow queso is rich, flavorful, and absolutely delicious. • They don’t drown everything in white cheese sauce. You get real variety and taste. • The enchiladas are cooked in the sauce—not just topped with it. I had one cheese and one chicken enchilada with green sauce. Even though mine were à la carte and the sauce was added after due to a small mix-up, they were still fantastic.

🥑 We started with the guacamole—chunky, fresh, and exactly how it should be. The complimentary salsa was also chunky and packed with pico, just like back home. We were Also given their jalapeño ranch dip. Not spicy at all. Pretty good. But, i was all over the Salsa. 

🌮 We both had the shrimp tacos, served with rice and beans. Everything was full of flavor and worth every bite.

🕓 We arrived around 4 PM on a Friday and waited about 25 minutes. When we left, the wait time had jumped to 1.5 to 2 hours—so plan ahead!

🏡 Atmosphere: The restaurant is beautiful, clean, and aesthetically pleasing. It has a warm, welcoming vibe that makes the whole dining experience even better.

🌶️ Pro Tip: Chuy’s offers several sauce options with different spice levels, clearly listed on the menu. If you’re sensitive to heat, just talk to your server and choose accordingly.

✅ Overall: Chuy’s is the closest we’ve found to real Southwestern Tex-Mex in the area. Flavorful, fresh, and inviting. We’re so happy we tried it. We will definitely be back! Pricing is also relatively...

We tried Chuy's the other night. It's new in town, so we gave it a shot. Honestly, it's just ok. We went on a Sunday around 5 pm. The parking lot was half empty, so it didn't seem like it was going to be busy. We were seated right away, and our server walked by and said she would be right back to take our drink orders. Right back must mean over 15 minutes. Well, we had time to look the menu over, so when she came back, we ordered everything at once. The server brought us out their chips, salsa, and jalapeño ranch. Chips are good, a little too thin for my taste, but good. The salsa is different, not bad, just different. The jalapeño ranch is amazing. We went through 3 baskets of chips and another ranch before our appetizer came out. Fyi, we weren't eating fast. It just took that long. We tried the appetizers plate, again, the food was ok. The panchos were good. We went through the appetizer and still waited another 20 minutes for the entrees. My wife had the Deluxe Chicken Enchiladas, I had the Steak Burrito, and my daughter had the Kid Tacos. All of it was just ok. There was absolutely nothing special about this food. There are at least 4 other local Mexican restaurants within 10 minutes that are better.

Overall, it was just ok. The food was ok, and the service was slow. I doubt we will be back. There are better options around. Sorry, I used ok so much, but that's the only way to...