El Cholo Bar / Historic Restaurant / Mexican Restaurant

El Cholo has to be one of my favorite Mexican Restaurants around the LA area. Authentic food and drinks and the ambiance is fantastic all around. Totally recommend this to anyone who wants to try real mexican food and not your typical el torito or acapulco

I was ecstatic and happy that we were about to celebrate my half sister's 19th birthday. I always wanted to be just like her, classy, sassy, smart and savy! I jumped around and danced and hugged her. I had my totebag match by yellow jumper and pig tail scrunchies. Ofcourse I was six years old then but oh boy how i remembered the yummy refried beans, chips with salsa and lavish portions! Fast forward 23 years later and I'm still excited about the chips and fresh peppered salsa, refried beans with Mexican cheese sprinkled on top and lavish portions! Cholo is a fancy shmancy mexican restaurant in wilshire with reasonable prices and awesome staff that will sing you happy birthday with a mariachi band of tenors and everything! It's reminiscent of my childhood and now adulthood of a fantastic time!

El Chola has been in the community for a ong time providing authentic Mexican food and great service. It is a great place for business lunches, as well as a great place to take your friends and family. It is is not over priced and provides a great eating atmosphere. The menu provides you with a variety of choices to appeal to your palate. It is a great place to celebrate birthdays too. Valet parking is provided so go to El Cholos and get a great meal with good proportions of food.

This restaurant! Man words can’t even describe how delicious! If you love Mexican food, and I mean authentic Mexican food then this is the place to go! The scenery is soothing with a small waterfall in the restaurant with lanterns hanging from the ceiling with the atmosphere that you are outdoors. They are not overpriced and they give GOOD proportions of food! Amazing service, amazing food, what are you waiting for go there now!

Despite living in Los Angeles, I've never really been a fan of Mexican food. El Cholo is one of the few exceptions. The best thing about this place is that they have so much variety from very Americanized Mexican food to the genuine stuff. Be warned that the portion sizes are huge, so go with friends and split some dishes. They also have incredible guacamole and salsa, that they serve on the table in lieu of bread. It is extremely easy to sit there and fill up on this, so make sure you save room for your meals. The service is generally good, I've gone with 14 other people before and we didn't wait long at all. Note: If you want to go, make a reservation. It is constantly busy, particularly since it is right next to LA Live.

If you’ve lived in California for any period of time, odds are you’ve consumed enough Mexican food to last two lifetimes. But if you haven’t ventured to Mid-City to try El Cholo, you are missing out on a unique experience. There is nothing flashy about the exterior of this iconic LA eatery, but once inside, you begin to understand its appeal. Traditional Mexican art, artifacts and photography from days long gone adorn the walls, while Spanish music plays over the airways. The place is also huge in the USC community, as many famous alumni have frequented here over the years, and their jerseys, pictures, and autographs are enshrined throughout the restaurant. Come on a USC game day, and experience a fiesta like no other. Additionally, USC students receive a 50-percent discount Monday-Thursday, so El Cholo is popular with the current generation of Trojans as well. This Spanish café promises authentic food, and its enormous, fully stuffed burritos and crispy rolled tacos do not disappoint. Visit El Cholo during their season (May-October) and feast on the legendary green corn tamales. These bad boys bring in patrons from all over the Southland year after year, and they alone are worth the trip into the city limits. After all that savory cooking, you’ll need something to wash it down with, and El Cholo’s famous margaritas are the tantalizing treat best suited for the task. Regularly voted as the best margaritas in Los Angeles, these drinks are strong but well mixed, and the flavors are exquisite. The place is always busy, so be prepared to perch at the bar while waiting for a table, but the wait alone should not be a deterrent. You feel the culture of the place as soon as you walk in, and soon enough, you get to taste it, too. Oh, there is one downside to El Cholo: like most places in LA, the parking situation is less than ideal. They have a small parking lot that is valet only; other than that you can take your chances finding a meter on the street, but you have a better chance of hitting the million-dollar jackpot in Las Vegas.

The original El Cholo on Western is great for delicious (and filling) Mexican dishes and a charming atmosphere all for a reasonable price. Each time I’ve visited El Cholo I have been greeted warmly and served by friendly and attentive waitresses. While the main dining area is filled with booths, the back area has tables suitable for parties of any size. This area creates the illusion of an outdoor patio, complete with colorful wicker lanterns hanging from the ceiling. As is common in Mexican restaurants, the servings are giant! Burritos the length of your forearm, tacos filled just right, and sides of rice and beans covering the plate. The dishes do not disappoint by any means and you absolutely get what you pay for. Normally, dishes run anywhere from $9 - $18, with a “Fiesta Hour” from 3-6pm Mondays through Fridays which takes a few dollars off certain special drinks and meals. Additionally, there is a discount available for USC students (with ID) that is 50% off entrees Mondays through Thursdays. My only complaint about El Cholo is their parking situation. They do have their own parking lot; however, it is quite small and is valet only. An additional parking lot is located directly across the street and there are meters as well. But, if you would like to find free parking the neighboring small streets are for you. Overall, El Cholo is a lovely restaurant suitable for families, dates, or a good time of any sort. If you want authentic Mexican food at a good price, El Cholo is for you.

El Cholo on Western in Mid-City is the better, more authentic version that other locations of this chain should strive to feel like. Maybe it's because this is the original location, so it's worn in all the right places and feels a bit more rich with history. Maybe it's because it's the first location I ever went to, likely before I knew it was a chain. Maybe it's because this location is filled with local families, often times celebrating or just having a huge family dinner. Either way, I came here all the time when I was a student at USC, and still adore this location. The crowd, as previously stated, is mainly local families, students, and some dates as well. Lines are long so be prepared to saddle up at the bar and nurse a margarita (yum!) while you wait for your table. The food is great - and I swear is better at this location than others. This definitely isn't the place to have a quiet conversation - it's fairly loud ALL the time - but again, that just contributes to the overall warmth you can find here. I think there used to be a really great happy hour we would take advantage of at USC, no idea if they still do it. Either way, if you want as close to an authentic Mexican experience as one can get at El Cholo, make sure you make it out to this location. (Also, there is generally street parking on Western if you're okay walking a block or so.)