Chapala’s Mexican Restaurant

Use to love it. The grnd beef was not eatable. Manager came and said he would take half off the bill which he didnt. So we didnt eat it and we paid.

Firstly, I am a first generation Mexican American. I’m from Austin Texas and my mother is one hell of a cook. So I consider my opinion on this matter alone: Mexican food, as valid. The food here is bad Mexican food. The rice (which is the basis for most Mexican dishes) was really soggy and bland. Even by adding chilé/​salsa the rice was soggy and gross. The waiter we had was confusing. My friend asked for an enchilada plate but it didn’t come with rice. The waiter suggested another plate that would supposedly come with rice. But, when the plate arrived; there was no rice! When my friend brought it up with the waiter he literally had this face like HE was annoyed. Waiter brings this big plate of rice and that is where we found it to be gross and soggy. Now, where I come from anytime you order something with tortilla you are asked «corn or flour?» We were automatically brought flour. The tortillas taste store bought/​factory made. I ordered the chicken Tinga tacos and found them to be disgusting. The tortilla was so soggy from all the grease in the chicken the tacos fell apart. I had ordered a beer and water. The water tastes like pool water. Beer was good! We got our ticket and my friend got charged for the rice that was suppose to be with the plate. We just paid our bill and left. I’m giving it 2 stars only cause the place is nice, the queso we got was good and the drinks looked good. But if you’re hungry for Mexican food good luck finding it in this place or in this area.

We were nervous to choose this place based on some of the poor reviews. But let’s get this settled, Chapala is great! We were seated immediately by a very friendly waitress. The cheese dip was very very good! I ordered the arroz con pollo, which I am familiar with because I order that from the Mexican restaurant at home. It was delicious! The chicken had absolutely no fat and the rice was cooked perfectly! The food came out within 10 minutes of ordering. We also ordered the steak, shrimp, and chicken fajitas. Everything was great! Will definately be returning! Give it a chance, you won’t be sorry! Also good prices for being by the beach!

I have often heard that there are no decent Mexican Restaurants in these parts. And I have to say that I totally agreed with that statement until I came to Chapalas. I stumbled upon this place on accident only because another nearby restaurant that I wanted to go to was closed. Talk about fate some times making things turn out better than you could have planned or hoped.
The service is good, the wait staff very professional and friendly. And the food is off the chain delicious. I had the Guacamole Dip for an appetizer and the Single Shrimp Fajitas. My entrée looked so good when it came to my table that the people sitting in the booth behind me also ordered the same thing. They call it a single serving but in my opinion two people could have shared this just fine.
I travel all over and have been to Mexican restaurants in large cities like Chicago that are in the heart of the barrio where hardly any one speaks English and this place is just as nice as any of those. I agree 100% with one of the other reviewers that this is definitely the best Mexican Restaurant in this area.
The only negative thing about this place is that I was seated at a booth where the seat opposite of where I was sitting was torn to shit, I mean really badly almost to the point of disgusting. Now, I didn’t make a big deal out of it because I was alone and didn’t have to sit there. But if someone else would have been with me it would have been a problem. They need to either fix that booth or get rid of it. They have too nice of a place to let a ratty booth bring down the overall presentation of their establishment.
After a tough week of eating at mediocre and just bad places, Chaplas was a refreshing surprise.

I have eaten here several times mostly because of convenience. Every time I have been disappointed. I wonder who is writing these 5 star reviews. Are they plants or customers with no sense of taste. Perhaps they don’t get out much and can only compare it to McDonald’s! I ordered the worst Chili Releno I have ever eaten! It was so tough the knife wouldn’t even cut it. The only consolation was the waitress was nice.

My husband and I go here quite frequently. They offer truly authentic Mexican Cuisine. They have amazing horchata! Everything I have tried on the menu has been incredibly great– enchiladas, quesadilla, carnitas, etc. It’s strange to say, but they have the most delicious rice I have ever tasted.
The only pitfalls of this restaurant are that there are way too many options for food and many of them are very similar. In addition the wait staff is not always on point; it can be very hit or miss on their attentiveness.

This is the best Mexican food we’ve had in our 3 years here. Everything we’ve had has been delicious.

This is, by far, the best Mexican food in town. Everything is homemade including the thin tender tortillas for their enchiladas.
Happy hour is 3 – 7. 2X1. Margaritas are top notch.
I highly recommend this restaurant.

We were very surprised about this place. The original reviews looked good and so I took my wife there. The first thing I noticed was the military discount policy that they had posted at the front (10% with ID, 20% if in uniform). I am not a fan of places that have restrictions about their discounts, I consider this slightly disrespectful since any of my brothers can be shot and killed for this country whether in uniform or not.
The server we had was great. She smiled and explained the menu every well. Unfortunately, the food was terrible. The enchilada sauce was actually some sort of tomato sauce. The taco had frozen cheese on it and was actually comparable to a Taco Bell taco rather than one from a Mexican restaurant. In fact the only good part of the food was the warm chips that they gave us… sadly.

Great service and food, and cheap. Party of six with 4 beers came to $ 75. Only wish we had saved room for dessert.

Excellent everything!
Good size portions and awesome drinks! The burritos and margaritas are big and delicious!

I am a California transplant so I know what I like in Mexican cruisine. This place is legit. Great tasting food a staff that is friendly and engaged in their product, I lived in the area for almost three years this place rocks! Great menu generous portions, friendly staff. Must stop for tourists as this is where the locals grub.

Legitimately delicious. The carnitas tortas is nor to be missed, a giant soft buttery roll filled with slow roasted pork tips, lettuce, tomato, mayo, onions and jalapeños. The chicken chalupa was stuffed with moist pulled chicken and the tamale, tacos and enchiladas were also tasty (I didn’t try them). Price is affordable and service was quick and friendly. Our new hometown go to!

I love this place! My family and I eat here at least once a week. Sometimes more. Excellent service, delicious food and great margaritas! It’s a «must come and try» place.

Not even close! Went here for a last minute dinner figured it would be quick as most Mexican places are. Service was good food was served quick but was awful. It’s bad when you push your plate away and have to fill up on chips drink and cheese dip. Don’t go here. Period. Kids menu/​food is not something you’d want to feed your offspring.

What a great place! We had an assortment of entrees but hands down pollo con crema was the best! Happy hour margaritas were a plus! Our waiter was Jose and he couldn’t have been better!

This review was written after two visits to Chapala’s. Both times there was absolutely no wait to be seated. Both times out server took our orders quickly. The wait after ordering is around 5 – 10 minutes it seemed. You can tell everything is pre made/​pre cooked just by how quickly your food is sent out. But nothing was dry, cold, over heated, or over cooked. It all tasted pretty good. Enchiladas are just meat wrapped in tortillas, covered in sauce and cheese. Nothing special. The fajitas came out sizzling. The vegetables MIGHT have been freshly cooked, but I am doubtful of it just because how fast the order was brought out. They were still had the crisp/​crunch though, which was good. Overall both visits have been good. No reason not to return, yet.

I highly recommend the massive mixed nacho plate with chicken, shrimp, pork, and steak. It is entirely fresh including the cilantro. If in a group, everyone will find a taste they like with this item. It could easily be shared by four people and you probably would not need to order an additional entrée!
If you do order an entrée, be prepared to eat leftovers for a few days. I ordered the Carne Asada and it was wonderful, but massive with two pieces of skirt steak about a pound of rice and refried beans and several scoops of this wonderful concoction they serve here called «guacamole salad.» All of this was served on a friggin’ meat platter! I asked the server if this was family style service and were others in my party sharing this and she giggled and told me «it is all for you, big guy.»
Everyone in my dining party carried at least one box and some took two boxes to put the remainer of their dinner in to take home – the portions are that large.
The service is wonderful, and the food is good, I just wish they would cut the portions in half and lower the prices a little. I ended up getting two extra meals as leftovers, but I would prefer to pay a lower price, be able to finish my plate, and come back for another visit and eat fresh food again.

Awsome lunch… food was hot and fast… great service… inside was welll done. comfortable atmosphere… very clean…

Ok well this place had just opened up so my girlfriend and I decided to try it out. It is in an old buffet building and it looks like they just hung up some sombreros and reopened.
I had the fajitas. They were not anything special. Not horrible, but I guess it’s kinda hard to screw up fajitas. My girlfriend had the steak poblano and no joke, it tasted like a Philly cheesesteak wrapped in a chili. The rice was pretty tasteless, it’s pretty bad when my 3 year old wouldn’t eat it. The beans actually weren’t to bad.
The worst part about this place was the wait staff. I seriously felt like they were hounding me. I got asked if everything was ok a good 13 – 15 times during my main service. There were like 4 waitresses sitting around doing nothing, and this was 8 o’clock on a Saturday. It almost felt as if they were scared of something, prob their food.
All around 2 stars. I would have given it one but considering the quality of the ft walton Mexican food, I guess it could be worse. And the 2 – 1 beers and margarita softened the blows, would not recommend.