El Charro — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

I was excited to try this restaurant but we didn’t even get the chance to sit. When we walked up to the host stand there wasn’t anyone there. We waited to be attended, watching workers pass by and looking right at us but no one came to the host stand. The bartender kept glancing at us too. The number of people waiting at the host stand kept growing, and still no one came to the host stand to even offer a wait estimate or greeting. We heard workers laughing and joking right around the corner from the host stand, yet no one bothered to say anything to us. A couple of us even went to walk into the restaurant to try to get someone’s attention. After almost 20 minutes of waiting for someone to bother to pay some attention to the growing number of people who were waiting to get in the waiting list or seated, we ended up leaving. Another party walked out too, and I saw them warn a party that was just about to enter what we experienced and that party left too. I understand that restaurant might’ve been short staffed or busy, but they have the responsibility to properly greet incoming guests. I always expect for a wait to be seated on a busy night but never a wait to be acknowledged. We ended up going to a different restaurant where we received much better...

If you're looking for delicious and affordable Mexican food, this is a MUST GO. Honestly, I was so happy to find this place. Tucked away right behind the conference center, it's super close by. My wife and I had an amazing experience and try to go back every week.

I cannot recommend the Tacos Al Pastor enough. Perfection. The margaritas are also delicious, with the coconut marg being my absolute favorite. Desserts are very well done and you can tell the kitchen staff put effort into presentation.

**I believe their AC was out a day or two ago, hopefully it's fixed. Previously it was very comfortable, but the last visit it was sweltering. We still really enjoyed the food though.

I'm not sure about these bad review comments. The food is exploding with flavor, the servers are very attentive and helpful, and you can order margaritas of different strengths. They have more sweet and fruity margaritas, and strong margaritas. Definitely not "watery". I had a sweet marg a couple days ago and though I couldn't taste the tequila, I sure could feel it.

Do yourself a favor and stop in. It's an A+ from me. And remember, get the Tacos Al Pastor. You...

New to the area and have tried a few nearby Mexican restaurants and all had some good/bad qualities (maybe good food but too loud or in a hard-to-find place or chips weren’t crunchy enough or whatever - keep in mind we were searching for our “new place” and are picky) but El Charro is just right like Goldilocks would like. Easy, quiet place to get into, plenty of parking on new blacktop, the staff were all very nice, quick, and accommodating. The chips and salsa were just right as were the huge margaritas! We had taco, enchilada, and burrito (and beans and rice) with side of perfect avocado. Delicous! Very, very quiet in the dining room which makes me hesitant to let word out how great it actually is! Anyway, terrific place, good people, yummy food, and supporting small business - what else do we need? Will...