Have you ever been to Chela’s Mexican Grill? If not, you are missing out and let me tell you why! 🙂 Recently, Chela’s Mexican Grill reached out to me and invited me in to their restaurant to see what they have to offer. After setting a date with the owner, Karla, I head in to visit Chela’s with my best friend from high school, Peggy. Chela’s turned out to be a fabulous experience with fresh and delicious food! I love family owned places, such as this one. I think that they have a special connection with the food they design and it shines through in the way the food tastes and how they treat their customers!
The history of Chelas began over fifty years ago in a small village in Michoacán, Mexico, with a young girl by the name of Roselia Vargas. She learned her family recipes and they were passed down to her son, Art and his wife, Karla since the food was so delicious and popular among the family. After Roselia’s passing, Art and Karla continued to cook the recipes from scratch for the family, until one day in 2008, the restaurant Chela’s Mexican Grill was born and they had an opportunity to share their fabulous offerings with the public!
When Peggy and I visited Chela’s, we were greeted with a warm smile by the manager, Edith that was eager to assist us and she had an extremely pleasant disposition!
To start our meal, Edith brought to our table freshly made tortilla chips and their famous, La Famosa salsa that is prepared fresh daily with chilies, onion, garlic, cilantro, and tomatoes! I could have eaten this salsa for days as it had just the right amount of spice and I told Edith I could even see myself enjoying it as a soup. We all got a good laugh out of that. 🙂 Along with the chips and salsa, there was some of the most delicious guacamole I have ever tasted! With its’ smooth and creamy texture, the flavor was spot on and had just the right blend of ingredients to make your mouth crave more and become instantly addicted. I was trying to slow myself down, for I knew we had a full foodie journey ahead…
Next, Edith brought to our table a newer dish on the menu which was the Carne Asada (steak) fries. These were very tasty and similar to nachos, except there were fresh cut and thick steak fries with perfectly seasoned carne asada meat in addition to two kinds of cheese, avocado, pico de gallo and sour cream! We ate way too many of these because we could not stop!
By the time our main courses were arriving to the table, we were already filling up, but we had no choice in the matter….we simply had to have more! We ordered the chorizo breakfast burrito; bean and cheese burrito wet style (a classic favorite) and the rib eye tacos (another new menu item).
The chorizo burrito was made with scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns, refried beans, and Colby jack cheese. This was Peggy’s selection as I am not a sausage fan, but I was happy to watch her enjoy it! My husband also loved the leftovers from this baby! It was nice in size and for only $7.50; you could not beat the price!
I ordered the Bean and Cheese burrito wet style as I was having a little vegetarian craving that afternoon.:) Rather than only having beans and cheese in my burrito, I also added cilantro, onions and sour cream and then I decided to make it wet style with their delicious verde sauce, which a is a mild salsa made with just a hint of jalapenos and citrus. It was perfect and I was happy to have half of this burrito to still split between dinner that evening and lunch the next day! 🙂
Lastly, the rib eye tacos were a gorgeous dish made with fresh USDA rib eye steak, queso fresco, chipotle cream sauce, pickled red onions, and Mexican lime slaw. Although my hubby was not present with me at this luncheon, when these tacos arrived, he was with me in spirit! These tacos were something he would die for and he got lucky that night because we had so much food, I could not finish them so he got my leftovers by default.:) These tacos definitely made my mouth happy and they were so gorgeous on the plate as well!
As we started to ask for leftover boxes, Edith brought out another new item to our table that she insisted we would love….and she was right! This dish ended up being Peggy’s favorite! This last dish was the Agave Lime Tostada which was prepared on a crispy corn tortilla with shredded lettuce, jicama, black beans, queso fresco, fresh strawberries, avocado, & Agave lime dressing! This dish was light and refreshing and I could definitely see myself ordering this one again in the future! 🙂
We each finished off the end of our meal with a slice of carrot cake that was made from scratch and jam packed with carrots. The cream cheese frosting on top was so very tasty and not overly sweet like some generic frostings tend to be. This slice of carrot cake had to be on the best ones I have ever had! As a matter of fact, we were so impressed with the carrot cake, that even though we were full from all of the delicious Mexican food, we were each able to polish off our own individual slice of cake! This dessert is a must add to your meal no matter how full you are! Trust me! 🙂
I loved Chela’s Mexican Grill and I look forward to returning in the future…Actually I know it will be soon because my hubby was quite jealous and feels the need to explore their menu in entirety now as well! I love family owned businesses such as this one. There is a really a difference in freshness, taste and flavor at Chela’s and you can certainly tell the staff puts their effort into designing each masterpiece before it arrives to your table! Have you been to Chela’s Mexican Grill? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below. 🙂
Chela’s Mexican Grill is located in Laguna Niguel at 29975 Alicia Parkway and can be found in Unit 10, next door to the Pizza Lounge. The dining room sends off the vibes of a welcoming atmosphere when you enter and everything is clearly written out on their menu when you head to the registers to order. I liked how there was a breakdown of the four salsas that they offer and they were very detailed about what the flavors were, as well as the different levels of spiciness.
At Chela’s Mex Grill everything is made fresh to order and there is evidence of this when you dine at their restaurant. On their website it states, “Flour tortillas are raw and cooked fresh when you order. We hand grate our cheese for your order. We toast our chilies every morning for our salsas. Our guacamole is hand scooped and prepared multiple times throughout the day. Our carrot cake is made from scratch every morning. We only use USDA Rib eye steak.” All of this is evident once you take a small bite!
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Another great review. I’ll have to give them another try. I wasn’t impressed the first time I tried them. Keep up the great blog.
Thanks so much Mike! I definitely would give them another try. Everything I had was great. Definitely try the carne asada fries! 🙂 Thanks again so very much!